Vegetable Plots? In Yangcheon District, We Offer 'Garden Allocation'... District Mayor Becomes a Gardener

Created 20 Mini-Gardens Along Anyangcheon, Each 9 Square Meters in Size
Residents Experience Healing by Personally Tending Their Own Gardens

At 2 p.m. on June 19, at Anyangcheon Healing Garden, about 60 members of the 'Yangcheon Y Gardening Crew,' dressed in green group T-shirts and hats pulled down low, were tending to gardens in small groups. Along the banks of Anyangcheon in front of Ewha Mokdong Hospital, there are 20 mini-gardens created by residents. These 20 gardens, each measuring 9 square meters and designed with different plants and styles, were lined up in a way that resembled a small garden expo.

Lee Gijae, Yangcheon District Mayor (second from left), is touring a garden cultivated by residents. Provided by Yangcheon District Office.

Lee Gijae, Yangcheon District Mayor and a member of the Y Gardening Crew, personally tends to a garden named 'Gijae's Picture Garden.' He said, "I bought and planted bright yellow Coreopsis and lilies myself at the market," adding, "After taking classes provided by the district office, I designed the garden myself and am cultivating flowers and trees." Lee, who runs along Anyangcheon from 5 a.m. three times a week, said, "Whenever I jog, I make sure to run around the garden area."

This site is a 'mini-garden complex' created through the resident-participation gardening program 'Y Gardening Crew,' which Yangcheon District launched for the first time this year. Mayor Lee thought it would be good not only to allocate vegetable plots, but also to allocate gardens, and chose unused land along Anyangcheon for the project.

During recruitment in March, the program saw a competitive ratio of 2.5 to 1, reflecting strong resident interest. The 20 teams selected (each team consisting of 3 to 5 residents) have received specialized training provided by the district office since April, covering basic gardening theory, plant selection, and planting methods. Each team was allocated a plot and is now cultivating their own mini-garden.

Each garden measures 9 square meters in a rectangular shape, but the designs and the types of flowers, trees, and plants differ. Participants can choose and plant trees such as Rocky Mountain juniper, Western arborvitae, and Emerald Green, shrubs like Tatarian dogwood, Spiraea, and Purple-leaf sand cherry, and herbaceous plants such as iris, beardtongue, and panicum, all provided by the district office, to match their own garden designs.

Each garden was given a unique name, such as 'Spring Garden After Winter' and 'Macrina & Emma's Walking Path Garden.' On this day, the fourth garden management practice class was held. With the rainy season approaching, the main topics were installing plant supports and weed management to protect the plants. To encourage beginner participation, a regular monthly education program is run at the garden site.

Residents lead every step, from garden design to planting and maintenance. Outside of the regular classes, volunteer 'Garden Friends'?graduates of the Yangcheon Gardener training course?and expert gardeners are matched with participants to support autonomous gardening. At the end of the year, various events such as an open garden picnic and an outstanding garden contest are planned. Kim Seongmi, a resident of Mokdong, said, "Having always lived in an apartment, I never had my own garden before, but seeing flowers bloom in a garden I tended myself is truly healing."

Yangcheon District plans to expand the project. Park Hyunju, head of the Anyangcheon Park Team at Yangcheon District, said, "This garden allocation project, where residents directly design, plant, and maintain their own gardens, is the first of its kind in Seoul," adding, "Starting next year, we will expand the garden area and the number of participants so that more residents can take part."

Yangcheon District launched the 'Resident Participation Garden Creation Project' for the first time in Seoul this year. Residents who received garden plots are cultivating their own gardens. Provided by Yangcheon District.