Volunteers and founders of the Barton Street P-Patch, funded by the 2008 Parks and Green Spaces levy held a soft opening gathering on Sunday March 11 (see our previous story here). Plots have been assigned, based on work hours and some plantings are underway.

It was a potluck event, as community based events often are and even amid the occasional gust of wind and some persistent rain, people gathered to celebrate a truly homespun product of hard work, vision and determination.

"I love that this P-Patch is open to the community," said Maryann Petrocelli one of the original garden 'Mothers, "It's always been a space where people from this neighborhood come in and out to go to Tony's or go to the bus stop. So people who live on this side can still come in and out event if they are not gardening here. It's like a park, It's a hybrid to me." She and a neighbor answered the initial letter seeking comments from the city as to the fate of the land. "We were kind of the first people who got in touch with the Department of Neighborhoods and took soil samples."

But everyone involved has displayed a lot of humility. Petrocelli said, "The bulk of the construction, the actual work was driven by Kate Farley and Randee Frost and Terri Lindow."

More is coming for the P-Patch including another tier, and a brick oven. As to an actual grand opening, Randee Frost said, "There was originally going to be a grand, but it kind of became un-grand but I'm going to make it happen, probably at the end of the year."

Frost said, "I'm amazed at what we've accomplished so far. It's really wonderful. It's been a lot of work, a lot of people got together. I think it's over 4000 hours from the planning stages to today. Over 100 people are involved. But the people of the City of Seattle that voted for that levy and Pete Spalding, that's really how that started. We've benefitted so much from that.

Patrick Goodwin, an 8th Grader at Our Lady of Guadalupe and a volunteer said, "
I had a project and I drove by here with my Dad one time after school and he said, 'Patrick, why don't you work here?' so I said sure. I looked at the board and saw the times they met. I've been out here at least five times and I have 18 hours done."

Terri Lindow another garden 'mother' said, "One of Patrick's questions was 'What makes the garden good?' and I said it gave the community a place to meet and learn about gardening and it's helped me meet so many wonderful people and neighbors right in my own back yard.

You can learn more about the Barton Street P-Patch page on the Seattle Deparment of Neighborhoods site and join the growing crowd of people who like them on Facebook.