Gardens & Urban Farms

Empowering Urban Communities Through Urban Agriculture


Table of Contents

Local Agriculture Projects Outside DC


Map of DC Urban Ag Sites

Below is a map of all urban ag sites in DC as well as unique ag sites located outside of the DC area. Gardens and farms are color coded into four categories: community gardens, education gardens, urban farms, public gardens, and unique ag sites outside of DC.

Learn more about each garden and farm type below, then look on the map or find your ward listed below and access resources for gardens and farms near you!

  • Community Gardens (blue) – Community Gardens are spaces where community members can grow food in personal or communal plots. These gardens are often operated by volunteer community members working together in a cooperative.
  • Education Gardens (orange) – Education gardens are spaces where children and/or adults can learn about urban gardening through hands on experiences or structured workshops. Many of these gardens are operated by non-profits with scheduled volunteer times.
  • Urban Farms (dark purple) – An urban farms is a production farm located in a city. Some urban farms have volunteer and educational opportunities but most farms are primarily focused on growing as much produce as possible. They can be managed by for profits or nonprofits, but all farms focus on increasing food access in cities by selling produce local at stores, farmer markets, and CSAs.
  • Public Gardens (burgundy) – Professionally curated ornamental gardens for visiting and educational opportunities.
  • Unique Ag Sites Outside DC (brown)

Find the garden closest to you! Then use the link to access their website,  learn more about the garden, and how to get involved.

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Ward 1

Community Gardens
Education Gardens
Urban Farms
Public Gardens

*Gardens and farms with an asterisk offer volunteer opportunities!


Ward 2

Community Gardens

Education Gardens
Urban Farms

*Gardens and farms with an asterisk offer volunteer opportunities!


Ward 3

Community Gardens

Education Gardens
Urban Farms

*Gardens and farms with an asterisk offer volunteer opportunities!


Ward 4

Community Gardens

Education Gardens
Urban Farms

*Gardens and farms with an asterisk offer volunteer opportunities!


Ward 5

Community Gardens

Education Gardens
Urban Farms
Public Gardens

*Gardens and farms with an asterisk offer volunteer opportunities!


Ward 6

Community Gardens

Education Gardens
Urban Farms
Public Gardens

*Gardens and farms with an asterisk offer volunteer opportunities!


Ward 7

Community Gardens

Education Gardens
Urban Farms
Public Gardens

*Gardens and farms with an asterisk offer volunteer opportunities!


Ward 8

Community Gardens

DPR Langdon Community Garden Using 6 different types of raised beds

Education Gardens
Urban Farms
Public Gardens
*Gardens and farms with an asterisk offer volunteer opportunities!

Community Garden Programs and Resources

DC
DC Parks and Rec (DPR) Community Garden Program and Garden Map
DPR hosts over 30 community gardens in every ward.

Growing Food, Growing Communities
OSSE/DPR shared garden space program where people needing garden spaces can connect with gardens needing help like unused summer school gardens & home gardens and yards

Rooting DC 
Free, all-day urban gardening forum that provides education about urban agriculture and food systems, cultivates health and protection of the environment, and builds community.

Community of Gardens
Digital archive hosted by Smithsonian Gardens in partnership with our Archives of American Gardens

National Parks Service(NPS) Contact for NPS Gardens
Richard Moore, Permits Specialist.
richard_moorer@nps.gov

Greater DC (VA)

Arlington County Community Gardeners Program
The county currently has seven gardens managed on a daily basis by the individual associations

Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia (MGNV)
Organization of volunteers who maintain six demonstration gardens that illustrate the wide variety of plants that grow well in our area as well as overall garden care.

Fairfax County Master Gardeners Association, Inc.
Nonprofit organization whose volunteers provide research-based horticultural information to home gardeners in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Greater DC (MD)

University of Maryland Extension Community Garden Program
Extensive list and information for Maryland County Community Gardens

Grow It Eat It: Maryland’s Food Gardening Network
Grow it! Eat it! campaign is a joint venture between The University of Maryland Master Gardener program and the Home and Garden Information Center- to encourage more food gardening in Maryland

A Community of Gardeners Documentary

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Education Gardens

Education Garden Programs and Resources

DC Parks and Rec Partner Urban Farms
A partner urban farm is an urban agriculture site that is located on DPR property but is managed and programed by a DPR partner with the purpose of offering free garden programming, production farming to increase local food access, or both.

OSSE School Garden Program
Supports more than 100 school garden programs in DC through funding, partnerships and strategic support

Rooting DC 
Free, all-day urban gardening forum that provides education about urban agriculture and food systems, cultivates health and protection of the environment, and builds community.

UDC Center for Urban Agriculture and Gardening Education
Research and education in urban agricultural

Washington Youth Garden

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Urban Farms

Urban Farm Programs and Resources

DC Parks and Rec (DPR) Partner Urban Farms

A partner urban farm is an urban agriculture site that is located on DPR property but is managed and programed by a DPR partner with the purpose of offering free garden programming, production farming to increase local food access, or both

DC Urban Farm and Food Security Act

This act promotes urban farming and food security in DC by establishing incentives to encourage the use of privately-owned land for urban farming and community gardens and creating programs to farm on public land

The Farm at Kelly Miller Community Design Meeting

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Places to Volunteer

Below are some highlighted urban Ag sites from above that are great places to volunteer to learn how to garden or to put your gardening skills to use.  This definitely isn’t a complete list of sites that offer volunteer opportunities but a good place to start.  If you know of any sites we missed please email josh@dugnetwork.org.

Ward 2

Brain Food Youth Garden755 8th St NW

City Blossoms Marion St Intergenerational Garden1519 Marion St NW

GroW Community Garden (GWU)23rd St and H St NW Washington

Old City Farm and Guild (plant nursery and urban farm)925 Rhode Island Ave NW

Ward 5

Arboretum (DPR) Intergenerational Youth Garden2412 Rand Place NE

Capital Area Food Bank Urban Demonstration Garden4900 Puerto Rico Avenue NE

Cultivate the City – H St Farms910 Bladensburg Road NE

Three Part Harmony Farm – 3104 4th St NE

Washington Youth Garden3501 New York Ave NE


Public Gardens


The Old Capitol Columns at the National Arboretum

DC Gardens’ Gardens Map
DC Gardens has provided a map of the major institutionally-supported public gardens in the District region. These gardens tend to primarily be made up of ornamental and non-edible plants.

DC

Franciscan Monastery
1400 Quincy St NE, Washington, DC 20017
Beautifully curated ornamental gardens with tours and vegetable garden volunteer opportunities

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
1550 Anacostia Ave NE, Washington, DC 20019
Beautiful aquatic gardens and numerous events such as the annual Lotus and Lily Festivals

National Arboretum
3501 New York Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002
446 acres of gardens, research, educational opportunities and the Washington Youth Garden

Smithsonian Gardens
600 Maryland Ave SW Washington, DC 20024
Numerous outdoor gardens, interiorscapes, and horticulture-related collections and exhibits integrated into the Smithsonian museum landscapes.

US Botanical Gardens
100 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, DC 20001
A living plant museum divided into numerous ecosystems for different climates. Also includes self guided and guided tours, workshops, and research

Greater DC (MD)

Brookside Gardens
1800 Glenallan Avenue Wheaton MD 20902
50-acres of public beautiful display gardens inside and outside including two conservatories for year-round enjoyment and a horticultural reference library.

Greater DC (VA)

Green Springs Garden
4603 Green Spring Rd, Alexandria, VA 22312
Public garden with a wide variety of education opportunities 

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Public Garden Program and Resources

DC Gardens
DC Gardens is a nonprofit, multi-media and in-person campaign promoting DC-area public gardens to visitors and residents alike.

2013 Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens Lotus & Waterlily Festival 

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Worthwhile Local Agriculture Projects Outside DC

Sometimes you have to leave DC to find worthwhile agriculture projects.  Below is a list of farms, urban farms and various agriculture sites that are unique to the area.M

Maryland

Centro Ashe Farm
1590-1598 Chester Ave, Bryans Road, MD 20616
A medicinal plant sanctuary, homestead, and education center

Charm City Farms
1310 Hillman St, Baltimore, MD 21202
Education urban farm with a wide variety of unique workshops

Clagett Farm
11904 Old Marlboro Pike, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772
Non-profit production farm, CSA and internships

Eco City Farms – Edmonston
4913 Crittenden Street, Edmonston, Maryland 20781
Production micro farm with workshops, CSA, farmers market and internships

Eco City Farms – Bladensburg
6100 Emerson Street, Bladensburg, MD 20710
Production micro farm with workshops, CSA, farmers market and internships

Forested
3707 Enterprise Rd, Bowie, MD 20721
10 acres Food Forest Garden with workshops, CSA and tours

Fox Haven Farm and Learning Center
3630 Poffenberger Rd, Jefferson, MD 21755
Education farm with a wide variety of unique workshops

Moutoux Orchard
15290 Purcellville Road Purcellville VA 20132
Production farm that does a whole diet CSA that includes unpasteurized grass-based milk and yogurt

Muirkirk Research Farm and Bread for the City Orchard
12001 Old Baltimore Pike Road Beltsville, MD
UDC research farm and an Orchard growing for low income DC residents

Owl’s Nest Farm
2612 Ritchie Marlboro Rd, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774
Certified Naturally Grown, woman-owned, production farm with CSA and DC farmers markets

Red Wiggler Community Farm
23400 Ridge Rd Germantown, Maryland
Red Wiggler is a sustainable farm where people with and without developmental disabilities come together to work, learn, and grow healthy food.

Up Top Acres – The Farm at Elm and Woodmont
4905 Elm St, Bethesda, MD 20814
Rooftop production farm

Up Top Acres – The Farm at Pike & Rose
11580 Old Georgetown Rd, North Bethesda, MD 20852
Rooftop production farm

Working Over Thyme Online Seedling Sale Storefront
17023 River Airport Road Brandywine, MD
Certified Naturally Grown production farm that sells and delivers seedlings to DC
V

Virginia

Arcadia Farm
9000 Richmond Highway Alexandria, VA 22309
Non-profit production farm with education programs for students and veterans

Green Springs Garden
4603 Green Spring Rd, Alexandria, VA 22312
Public garden with a wide variety of education opportunities

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Farm Programs and Resources

Chesapeake CRAFT (Collaborative Regional Alliance for Farmer Training)
Chesapeake CRAFT brings together the community of new and aspiring farmers in Northern Virginia and Maryland for farm tours and potlucks throughout the growing season

Chesapeake Foodshed Network
Catalyzing connections and collaborations in support of a sustainable, resilient, inclusive, and equitable regional food system in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Future Harvest CASA’s Cultivate the Chesapeake Foodshed Conference
Annual conference for three days of local farm and food workshops, farm fresh meals, inspiring speakers, and networking opportunities

Future Harvest Chesapeake Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (CASA)
Future Harvest CASA’s mission is to provide education, networking, and advocacy to help build a sustainable Chesapeake foodshed

Humane DC
A DC resource for all the different ways (farmers markets, CSAs, home delivery, stores, restaurants) to get higher animal welfare meat, dairy and pet food from mid-Atlantic pasture raised farms

Maryland Grazers Network
Our farm manager, Michael Heller, spearheads the Maryland Grazers Network, which helps farmers transition from corn-fed to grass-fed livestock.

Maryland Fair Farms
Movement of Marylanders working together for a new food system — one that is fair to farmers, invests in homegrown healthy foods, and restores our waterways instead of polluting them

Maryland Farm Link
Comprehensive list of farm resources and organizations and a weekly resource newsletter

Mountains-to-Bay Grazing Alliance
Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the new Mountains-to-Bay Grazing Alliance is providing farmers with information, resources, and assistance to expand livestock grazing efforts in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

National Young Farmers Coaltion
NYFC represents, mobilizes, and engages young farmers to ensure their success.

Farm jobs for persons with developmental disabilities at Red Wiggler Community Farm

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