Community gardens

Registration for returning gardeners closed on Friday, December 2, 2022. Registration for new gardeners opened Monday, January 9, 2023. Gardens either offer ground plots, accessible plots, or a mix of both.

Cost and accessibility

The annual registration fee ranges from $16.16 to $43.30 for a plot that is approximately 200 square feet. Please contact Customer Service at 519-661-5575 to determine if you qualify for a subsidized plot. 

How to register as a new gardener 

• ​​​​Online: Create a Play Your Way account. Then, login and select “Garden Plots” to find your preferred location and plot. Make sure to select “May 1” as the date to register in the left-hand column.
• By email or over the phone: Send an email to recreation@london.ca or call 519-661–5575 with your preferred location. Customer Service will assist you further.
• In person: Visit the City of London office at Citi Plaza (355 Wellington Street, second floor, Suite 248) between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. 

Waitlist 

Community garden waitlists open the same day as registration for new gardeners and close when they hit capacity. To join the waitlist, please register online using your Play Your Way account or call Customer Service at 519-661-5575. 

Residents are welcome to join multiple waitlists but must accept the first plot of those locations to become available. If a resident declines a plot, their name will be automatically removed from all other community garden waitlists. All the community garden waitlists reset at the end of every season (September 30). 

To report a maintenance related problem, please use the Service London portal.

Examples include broken water taps, encampments, garbage, graffiti or damage to a bulletin board, and missing hoses or number posts.

Service London Portal

This guideline applies to all residents of London who are interested in developing a new Community Garden on municipally owned lands.

Guideline

London residents, neighbourhood associations and groups (referred to as ‘interested parties’) must have ten committed Gardeners in the same neighbourhood to submit a Statement of Interest to the City of London’s Community Gardens Program for the development of a new Community Garden in an identified location, located on City property (usually a park). If the proposed garden site passes the due diligence process and has the support of the local community (within a 250-metre radius of the proposed site), the Community Garden will be considered for further development.

This process usually takes one to two years to complete all the necessary steps. The City reserves the right to deny a site for any reason at its sole discretion.

Procedures

i.) Submitting an Application for the Development of a New Community Garden

London residents, neighbourhood associations and groups (‘interested parties’) contact the City of London at communitygardens@london.ca or 519-661-5336 and complete a Statement of Interest form (electronic or hard copy) to outline their interest in developing a new Community Garden on municipally owned lands. At this initial stage of interest, the interested parties must demonstrate that they have 10 (ten) Gardeners, within the same neighbourhood, interested in undertaking the development of a new Community Garden. 

Once the City has received the Statement of Interest, Community Gardens Staff will conduct the necessary due diligence regarding the potential site to ensure it is an appropriate site. Priority will be given to those sites on municipally owned lands that meet the following criteria:

• The proposed site is available and properly zoned
• Potential site complies with Ontario Regulation 153/04, whereby only municipal lands where the current or last known use was residential, parkland, or agricultural will be considered during site selection
• There is ease of access to the site during the gardening season
• The quality and drainage effectiveness of the soil is satisfactory
• Suitable sun exposure
• Good access to water sources
• Proximity to neighbourhoods and areas of population density
• Demonstrated willingness of volunteers to work with the City of London to develop, operate and maintain the garden

If the proposed site passes the due diligence stage, the City of London will send an information letter to all homes in a 250-metre radius of the proposed site, advising them of the proposal to develop a Community Garden and asking them to provide written feedback to the City. If feedback is primarily disapproving, the City may undertake a neighbourhood consultation process to provide further information to gain support.

If it is determined that there is demonstrated support for the proposed Community Garden, a site plan will be prepared by Community Gardens Staff. New Community Garden site plans will:

• Comply with applicable provincial accessibility standards, City Facility Accessibility Design Standards (FADS) and/or municipal by-laws
• Identify access points for water
• Include plot layouts and dimensions, including no fewer than 10%, or 1 accessible garden plot(s)

ii.) Constructing a New Community Garden

• Gardeners must work with City of London to construct the garden beds
• The City will provide clean fill
• Features such as dirt or crushed gravel pathways to plots, raised beds and other accessibility attributes are supported within the Community Garden
• Plans for new gardens are to be supported by the Accessibility Advisory Committee and installed by a City of London approved contractor
• There must be minimum setbacks of 6 (six) meters from edges of Community Gardens to surrounding amenities, property lines, hedgerows and trees to allow for regular park maintenance equipment to move through the area