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Our Story
Jefferson Avenue Community Garden began with a simple idea: create a shared green space where neighbors could come together to grow food, connect with one another, and strengthen the Union Hill community.
Conceived in 2000 by a small group of dedicated neighbors, the garden became a reality in October 2003 and has remained a thriving community resource ever since. Today, it serves as both a productive community garden and a welcoming gathering place in the heart of Richmond's East End, offering residents the opportunity to grow fresh produce and flowers while supporting pollinators, wildlife, and a healthier urban environment.
The garden currently features 22 organically maintained raised beds cared for by local gardeners. A mature fig tree welcomes visitors at the entrance and provides shade for the children's educational garden, creating a space where younger generations can discover the joy of gardening and environmental stewardship.
With support from the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, the garden also includes native BayScape plantings along its front beds. These gardens showcase plants native to the Chesapeake Bay and Piedmont regions, providing important habitat for pollinators while demonstrating the beauty and ecological value of native landscapes.
Built by the Community
Built by the Community
JACG reflects the generosity, creativity, and hard work of countless volunteers and community partners.
Visitors can relax on a handcrafted gabion bench built by a neighbor or gather around picnic tables generously donated by the Richmond ToolBank. The garden's irrigation system includes a 1,000-gallon rainwater cistern that captures runoff from a neighboring building, helping conserve water while supporting sustainable gardening practices. Seasonal leaf collections also provide valuable organic matter that enriches the garden's soil.
One of the garden's most distinctive features is its circular storage shed, constructed during volunteer workdays in 2005 and clad with recycled #10 cans donated by the former Richmond grocer Ukrop's. In 2007, volunteers added the garden's paved pathway and rainwater cistern with support from an Aveeno and Organic Gardening grant, further enhancing the garden's accessibility and sustainability.
Preserving the Future
Preserving the Future
In recent years, the Capital Region Land Conservancy partnered with garden stewards to place the property under a conservation easement. This important milestone helps ensure that JACG will remain a protected community green space for generations to come, continuing to provide opportunities for gardening, environmental stewardship, education, and neighborhood connection.
More Than a Garden....
JACG is built on the belief that healthy communities grow through shared effort. While each gardener tends their own plot, the garden thrives because neighbors come together to care for the spaces they share, support one another, and contribute to something greater than themselves. Every season brings new opportunities to cultivate not only fresh food, but also friendships, knowledge, and a deeper connection to the environment and the community we call home.
From maintaining common areas and improving garden infrastructure to welcoming new members and hosting community events, volunteers play an essential role in the life of JACG. These shared efforts create a vibrant, welcoming space where people of all ages and experience levels can learn, grow, and build lasting relationships. Our commitment to collaboration, stewardship, inclusion, and service shapes every aspect of the garden and is reflected in the core values that guide our organization.
Education & Skills
Education & Skills
Provide hands-on educational opportunities in gardening, composting, soil health, sustainable growing practices, and environmental stewardship.
Environmental Stewardship
Environmental Stewardship
Promote biodiversity, cultivate native plants, and support healthy ecosystems that sustain pollinators and wildlife.
Community Building
Community Building
Strengthen relationships among neighbors through shared gardening, volunteer service, educational programming, and community events.
Shared Food Production
Shared Food Production
Provide accessible opportunities for individuals and families to grow nutritious food using sustainable gardening practices.
Equitable Access
Equitable Access
Create and maintain a welcoming, safe, and inclusive environment where people of all backgrounds can participate.
Sustainable Practices
Sustainable Practices
Model environmentally responsible gardening through organic growing, water conservation, composting, and responsible resource management.
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