What types of urban gardens are there? What are urban gardens like? Here is a list of various types of gardens, various forms of urban agriculture with different objectives but with a multitude of benefits.
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Private for-profit gardens
The owners of these gardens cultivate them and sell the harvested organic products to their customers (individuals, restaurants or consumer groups). An example is the organic greenhouses of Apadrinauntomate (well… it would be if they were in a big city, I mean… because these gardens are in a rural area, in Cantabria).
Rental gardens or leisure gardens also belong to this group: private land on which small plots of land are rented to urban gardeners, such as the Tomba L’Olla gardens in Valencia. Private users pay monthly or annual fees for their gardens, which usually include services such as irrigation, cultivation tools, professional advice, etc.
Home gardens or family gardens
Private gardens cultivated inside homes, patios, gardens or balconies of the owners.
There are many modalities, since their form depends on the space and time available: vegetable gardens in pots or potting gardens, vegetable gardens on cultivation tables, vegetable gardens on terraces or directly on the ground, vertical vegetable gardens… You can read more about this in the post on the classification of home vegetable gardens.
Public leisure gardens
Public gardens are set up on plots of land that are leased (or rented) on public land managed by state or municipal administrations. They are usually used for organic farming and teaching sustainable techniques.
The administration is in charge of the management and maintenance of the facilities, and establishes the allocation of plots, schedules, rules of use, etc. An example is the Retiro Orchard in Madrid.
In many cases, public gardens are intended for specific social groups, such as the elderly, the unemployed, children, or people in situations of social exclusion, etc.
The main objectives of municipal and other public gardens are: the recovery and conservation of urban spaces and local varieties, the practice and dissemination of organic agriculture, the educational and training use, and the creation of spaces for socialization, especially for the most vulnerable groups.
Urban community gardens
Community gardens are usually located on public land or neighborhood properties (which are ceded to the community of gardeners), and are free and freely accessible spaces, where the neighbors of the area work to make them work thanks to teamwork and bearing in mind agroecological techniques for obtaining healthier and more natural food.
In these gardens there are people of all ages, ideologies and cultures (since anyone who wants to can become part of the “community of gardeners” of a community garden), so they share knowledge and experiences that are useful, enriching, and even therapeutic. It also promotes basic social values and attitudes, such as tolerance, solidarity and respect for the environment.
Educational gardens
There are several types of gardens aimed at environmental education, agricultural training or support for basic education.
Some examples are school gardens, gardens established in public facilities (universities, educational centers, etc.), such as the organic garden in Agrónomos or the Aula Verde Invernadero Didáctico, or collective educational gardens, in which the people who participate in them collaborate in the maintenance of the garden while they organize free activities or courses designed as a learning practice.
Therapeutic gardens
Work in horticulture and gardening is a leisure and recovery alternative for all types of patients and vulnerable groups. These people increase their possibilities of distraction while promoting their physical and psychological wellbeing.
The garden as therapy is increasingly considered by therapists in all types of centers, hence the gardens are becoming more common in nursing homes, social integration centers, gardens in hospitals and other health centers, prisons, schools for the disabled, etc..
La Huerta de Montecarmelo is an example of how the activity in the garden is beneficial for people with intellectual disabilities, for whom the work in the gardens is a way to social integration and personal satisfaction.
Decorative gardens
Gardens are beautiful green spaces, which is why more and more restaurants, hotels, homes and all kinds of public and private spaces are making use of them with a dual purpose: food production and aesthetic improvement of the environment.
You can see some examples of this type of gardens in the article Decorative gardens or in the post about gardens in hotels.
I hope you have found the article interesting and do not hesitate to comment adding more types of gardens that I have not mentioned!
