Ariadne Garden

Ariadne Garden is located at 3608 NE 11th avenue just north of Irving Park. The plot has been used as garden space since the two houses that once lived here caught fire and burned down and it has been feeding neighbors for many years. In 1993 it changed hands, was fenced and made into the formal garden it is now. Aridane was the first parcel placed in trust with OSALT (Oregon Sustainable Agricultu

re Land Trust) and was donated by Kim McDodge to remain as a community-based garden for future generations. The garden was named after Ariadne (airy ADD’ knee) the mythical maiden and wife. The design of Ariadne is an old Hopi pattern of Mother and Child - two nesting mazes. 'We' are an assortment of volunteers and community service workers, from the neighborhood, the wider Sabin Community and other parts of our great city. Our goal and purpose is to care for Ariadne through generations with beauty. We make decisions using a holistic framework which gently ties our actions to this place through every cycle - water, sun, mineral and community. The quality of life we want here is to keep her so well that we can offer out our skills and provisions with pride; to care for her soil, tools, seeds, and money, all with an eye toward perennial regeneration. We look towards a future where we keep her water and mineral cycles flowing fully and her soil rich with the complexity it needs to sustain itself, knowing our lives depend on this. We care for the soil food web, that vast array of communities that keep our soil alive and working wonders with us. The micro-organisms quietly feed and protect the roots, leaves, and seeds. Bacteria and fungi gather and secure nutrients and glue together particles to create structure and allow the passage of air and water. Protozoa and nematodes convert those storied nutrients to a form plants can use and pass it to the long strings of mycorrhizal fungi that channel it the roots of plants. The plant makes cake-like food of sugars and proteins for the tiny workers so they will stick around to help. All together, these organisms protect the plant from disease-causing organisms and pests. The garden is open Wednesday and Saturday from 10 to 1 during the growing seasons -May through Oct – for produce sales and visits. We sell what we grow to anyone who comes by and we use the revenue to pay our bills, which are water, seeds, fertilizer, straw, and insurance. At Ariadne we try to keep an ongoing conversation about gardening and culture. Drop by and look anytime.