For an organization called Wichita Community Gardens, Inc., community seems just as important as the thriving garden they’ve created in Riverside.
Yes, the tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, cucumbers, fresh herbs and more are a mouth-watering sight along Amidon Avenue during the growing season. Not to mention the beautiful flowers. But the group has a handful of other projects that spread its impact around the neighborhood and city.
As part of its Riverside Pollinator Project — designed to boost the bee population — members planted native pollinators along the garden’s easement and at the Kansas Wildlife Exhibit in Central Riverside Park. Each April, they give away native plants, seed packets and vegetable and herb starts to other gardeners.
They raise and donate over a 1,000 pounds of produce each year to the ICT Food Rescue program (through the Sedgwick County Extension Center’s Plant A Row project) and to Linwood Senior Center and also make a herb garden available to neighbors. They hold monthly “Coffee & Dirt” get-togethers for educational and social purposes.
The Riverside Garden makes use of raised beds, including two new higher raised beds that are wheelchair accessible.
“It’s really turning into a community space, which is the beauty of the thing,” said Kris Rogers, a retired educator who helped start the garden.
The Riverside garden is one of at least a dozen active community gardens in the area, according to Abbey Draut, a horticulture agent with the extension center. Draut said there are probably more but that’s how manyhave listed their contact information with the extension center.
“We get a lot of calls from organizations trying to put them in, (like) a senior care center that might try to put one in,” Draut said. “They’re just popping up all over.”
Community gardens may not be as convenient as a backyard plot, but they’re a great alternative for an apartment dweller or homeowner whose yard is too shady or otherwise occupied to hold a garden. Some offer participants individual plots or raised beds; Riverside, for instance, has 38 raised beds. Others offer a space in a communal garden and may share the harvest. Most charge a small fee but offer free water in return.
And if you’re a novice gardener, there’s usually somebody around willing to offer advice on just how often and deep you should water those tomatoes.
The Riverside garden is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. It got its start when the owner of a vacant lot on Riverside Avenue offered it for a community garden. It thrived there until the owner wanted the property back in 2021; fortunately, the city offered use of a double lot at 802 Amidon, directly across the street from Botanica to the south and Sim Golf Course to the west.
Draut said the Riverside garden “is kind of like the premier” one that she advises other community garden organizers to use as a model. Its members have worked closely with the extension center and Sedgwick County Master Gardeners from the start.
Rogers and others also formed the nonprofit Wichita Community Gardens, Inc., in order to qualify for grants. This year, a grant from AARP led to the construction of two wheelchair accessible garden beds, which are surrounded by a sidewalk and raised higher than normal for easier access.
Earlier this year, Rogers was named the recipient of the Wichita Park & Recreation Distinguished Public Service Award for her work on the garden, which also features fencing for security and a gaily painted shed for storing gardening tools.
Not surprisingly, the garden is popular, with all but one of the wheelchair-accessible plots spoken for. Draut said that’s not unusual. “A lot of them don’t have any openings,” she said, mentioning the Hilltop Community Garden as one that “always has a wait list.” Hilltop is located at 1329 S. Bluffview and run by Dear Neighbor Ministries.
But some do have openings. The Garden of Eat’n, run by the South City Community Association, currently has room for about 15 people. A 10 x 20 lot can be rented there for $20 a year, which includes free water and electricity.
“If you’re willing to work, you can get a lot of produce out of it,” said Ron Lawrence, who’s worked a plot there about 20 years. “We’re looking for good people who want to put in a good garden.”
For more information about community gardens, call the Sedgwick County Extension Office at 316-660-0142 or email abbeyd@ksu.edu.
2026 Garden Tour set for June 5-7
The 2026 Garden Tour hosted by Sedgwick County Master Gardeners will feature six private landscapes across the Wichita area ranging from lakeside settings and shady retreats to a sprawling country garden. The tour is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, June 5, and Saturday, June 6, and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, June 7. Tickets are $10; children 12 and under are admitted free with an adult.
The tour highlights a number of approaches to gardening, including water-wise design, habitat for pollinators for wildlife and the integration of ornamental and edible plantings. Visitors will see a range of water features, native grasses and drought-tolerant plantings, shade gardens and outdoor living spaces. Master Gardeners will be on site at each location to answer questions.
Advance tickets are available at the Sedgwick County Extension Education Center at 21st and Ridge Road and online at: www.sedgwick.ksu.edu/gardentour. Tickets will also be available at the gardens on the days of the tour. Proceeds benefit the Master Gardener educational community outreach programs. For more information, call (316) 660-0100.
The featured gardens are:
• Where Waters Wander, 2209 N. Amardo St.
• Gardens of Wonder and Whimsy, 19 W. Rolling Hills Dr.
• Charming Cottage Garden with Cozy Gathering Spaces, 401 S. Holyoke St.
• Shady Oak Retreat, 410 N. Roosevelt St.
• A Celebration of Water, Rock and Colorful Plantings, 24 Sandpiper Ct.
• A Sprawling Country Native Garden, 3246 S. 154th St. E.
