February, 2024, Brad Holland, the owner of 1933 Bell, the Garden District's Community Garden, placed the property up for sale. The future of the Community Garden is unsure at this point, until a buyer is found. Gardeners were given a six week notice in mid February.
GDNA was blessed to have use of the lot for 13 years as our community garden. Words do not seem adequate to express our gratitude to Brad for this generous gift to our community for so many years. The garden's value to our quality of life and health in Garden District cannot be overstated. The community garden has meant so much to so many. Thank you, Brad Holland.
CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS BELOW OF THE GARDEN OVER THE YEARS!
GDNA was blessed to have use of the lot for 13 years as our community garden. Words do not seem adequate to express our gratitude to Brad for this generous gift to our community for so many years. The garden's value to our quality of life and health in Garden District cannot be overstated. The community garden has meant so much to so many. Thank you, Brad Holland.
CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS BELOW OF THE GARDEN OVER THE YEARS!
For information about joining another community garden,
contact Community Gardens of Tucson.
Come grow with us!
Scholarships for reduced fee plots are available!
contact Community Gardens of Tucson.
Come grow with us!
Scholarships for reduced fee plots are available!
January 4, 2013, NPR segment: How A Community Created A Garden From Sadness
Photographs courtesy of Kha Dang, Garden District Resident.
HISTORY OF THE GD2 GARDEN
In 2011, US Representative Gabrielle Giffords was a Garden District resident and lived in a townhome across the street from the property that would one day become the GD2 Gardens. Her Tucson office was within walking distance on the southeast corner of Pima and Swan in Garden District. She could often be seen bicycling around Garden District, sometimes in the company of her good friend, Brad Holland who lived across Bell Ave. from Gabby.
In 2011, Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a Safeway parking lot in Casas Adobes. 6 victims died. After the shooting on January 8, Brad who owned the vacant lot across the street from Gabby’s townhome decided to honor his friend Gabby and donated the use of his property to Community Gardens of Tucson.
The GD2 Garden opened in the Spring of 2011. With the help of numerous residents and Gene Zonge of Community Gardens of Tucson, the 21 plots were soon dug, filled in with new dirt and compost and planted. The joke the first year of the garden was that if you drove, you better lock your car door or you would come back and find your car stuffed to the roof with zucchini and tomatoes.
All the flowers and plants from the 3 memorial sites to the victims of the Jan. 8 shooting were donated to our GD2 community garden. Close to 100 very large boxes were delivered to our garden and volunteers worked for weeks to compost, reuse, or repurpose the floral items left at the memorials. The bulbs and live plants were planted in the first bed as you entered the GD2 Garden. All the remaining plant material was composted. The vases, pots, and planters were distributed to nursing homes. The ribbon and floral picks that hold cards were given to an Art teacher. Paper products were either recycled or cut into squares for use in an origami project by a local artist. The GDNA volunteers tried to reuse or recycle everything they could from the bouquets and floral offerings.
Over the years, the GD2 Gardens has become a green space for neighborhood events and for residents to gather. Once a month, a Master Gardener used to present to large groups of interested gardeners, some of whom gardened at GD2, some gardened at home. Renowned Master Gardener and past garden columnist for the Daily Star, George Brookbank was a frequent speaker. The GD2 Garden has also been the site of many potlucks and “Stone Soup” feasts where gardeners contributed items from their gardens for the soup pot and others brought dishes to share.
As Cicero said, "If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need." In May, 2022, a Little Free Library was added near the entrance to the GD2 Garden. Thanks to builder, Mary Force, and artist Kevin Pawlak for creating our library and to Brad Holland for allowing it to be placed on his property.
In 2011, US Representative Gabrielle Giffords was a Garden District resident and lived in a townhome across the street from the property that would one day become the GD2 Gardens. Her Tucson office was within walking distance on the southeast corner of Pima and Swan in Garden District. She could often be seen bicycling around Garden District, sometimes in the company of her good friend, Brad Holland who lived across Bell Ave. from Gabby.
In 2011, Gabby Giffords and 18 others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a Safeway parking lot in Casas Adobes. 6 victims died. After the shooting on January 8, Brad who owned the vacant lot across the street from Gabby’s townhome decided to honor his friend Gabby and donated the use of his property to Community Gardens of Tucson.
The GD2 Garden opened in the Spring of 2011. With the help of numerous residents and Gene Zonge of Community Gardens of Tucson, the 21 plots were soon dug, filled in with new dirt and compost and planted. The joke the first year of the garden was that if you drove, you better lock your car door or you would come back and find your car stuffed to the roof with zucchini and tomatoes.
All the flowers and plants from the 3 memorial sites to the victims of the Jan. 8 shooting were donated to our GD2 community garden. Close to 100 very large boxes were delivered to our garden and volunteers worked for weeks to compost, reuse, or repurpose the floral items left at the memorials. The bulbs and live plants were planted in the first bed as you entered the GD2 Garden. All the remaining plant material was composted. The vases, pots, and planters were distributed to nursing homes. The ribbon and floral picks that hold cards were given to an Art teacher. Paper products were either recycled or cut into squares for use in an origami project by a local artist. The GDNA volunteers tried to reuse or recycle everything they could from the bouquets and floral offerings.
Over the years, the GD2 Gardens has become a green space for neighborhood events and for residents to gather. Once a month, a Master Gardener used to present to large groups of interested gardeners, some of whom gardened at GD2, some gardened at home. Renowned Master Gardener and past garden columnist for the Daily Star, George Brookbank was a frequent speaker. The GD2 Garden has also been the site of many potlucks and “Stone Soup” feasts where gardeners contributed items from their gardens for the soup pot and others brought dishes to share.
As Cicero said, "If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need." In May, 2022, a Little Free Library was added near the entrance to the GD2 Garden. Thanks to builder, Mary Force, and artist Kevin Pawlak for creating our library and to Brad Holland for allowing it to be placed on his property.
