The idea of sharing gardens is not a new one but, with more and more people embracing the idea of sustainable gardening, it is increasing in popularity. And no wonder. It’s a great idea -- both for the apartment-dwellers who love to garden and for those who have the land but don’t have the time, resources or inclination to do anything with it.

For us at GardenstoTables, it was just that – a great idea – until I received the following e-mail:

"I read about you in Westways and went to your website. After reading about how excited you were to rent a plot at the SM community garden I had an idea. Why wait for a plot to become available. What if there are people in the West LA area who are not gardeners (like me) who have the perfect space for a garden but will never plant one. I would love to let anyone use my yard or untended patch of dirt to plant, experiment, tend or whatever. I would even help pay for supplies if someone just lovingly dealt with it.  Just a thought....if you know anyone who wants a little plot to plant...have them send me a note! Nina."

And thus begins our foray into the fabulous world of garden sharing. The specs for anyone interested in this particular opportunity are this: Nina lives in Westwood, works full time, is a mom and has no luck with anything green. Her yard has several spots she thinks are perfect for any kind of garden.

So, if you are a wanna-be gardener who lives on the Westside of Los Angeles and is interested in working Nina’s garden, send me an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will forward it on to her. She can then pick the person (or persons) that best fit her situation.

To help both sides of the process, I have done a little research and found some sites that address the issues people entering into a garden sharing agreement should work out before, well, getting to work. (See list below.)

If any of you have experience in garden sharing and would like to, well, share your experiences, please do. Also feel free to comment or ask questions and we’ll post follow-up articles on how it all goes.

Urban Garden Share: http://www.urbangardenshare.org/
Sharing Backyards: http://sharingbackyards.com/
Growfriend.org: http://growfriend.org/node/4
Santa Monica Garden Sharing Registry: http://www01.smgov.net/comm_progs/gardens/garden%20sharing.htm

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