Community Gardening

A community garden is an area used for growing plants or animals, which has been collaboratively created and is maintained by members of the public. A community garden can take place on public or private land and can involve a broad cross-section of the public, as in a neighborhood community garden. Or it can involve specific sectors of the population, such as a school garden that involves students, teachers, parents, and other community members who support the garden for education.

                   Community Garden Handbook

Looking for a place to have a garden? The following locations may have plots available for the public to use. All of them are free of charge.

Des Moines Park and Recreation Community Gardens
 

 Ashfield Community Garden

Ashfield Community Gardens in Ashfield Park since 2011
Address: 1850 Hubbell Avenue
Acreage: .15
Number of plots: 22
Plot Size: 10’X15’
 

Downtown Community Garden

Downtown Community Garden at Allen Park since 2010
Address: SE 6th and Scott
Acreage: .5
Number of plots: 80
Plot Size: 8’X14’
 

Franklin  Community Garden

Franklin Community Garden at Franklin Field since 1998
Address: 55th and Franklin
Acreage 1.65
Number of plots: 180
Plot Size: 10’X15
 

Woodlawn Community Garden

Annual Spring Perennial Divide

Renew your garden and beautify Des Moines public land by donating perennial plant material. Residents who are donating plant material are asked to label their plants and identify its sun requirements, height, and color of flower. No donation is too small. We welcome plants of all kinds including perennials, bulbs, groundcovers, herbs, vegetables, annual seedlings, ornamental grasses, shrubs, seeds and house plants. Donations will be accepted at the City greenhouse starting Friday, May 17th and ending at noon Saturday the 18th. Non profit groups that have been confirmed to receive donations can pick up plants from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. 

The general public is asked to bring plant donations to:

Chesterfield Community Center - 2501 Maury

Friday, May 17th        8:00 a.m. – 2:30p.m. 

Saturday, May 18th  8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Don't Let Them Mark Your Turf

The City of Des Moines operates a graffiti removal program to “erase” graffiti that appears in our neighborhoods, on public property and in commercial areas. Graffiti includes undesirable messages, scribbles, and symbols that are usually spray- or hand- painted on fences, buildings, bridges, and other structures, as well as on objects such as trees, trash dumpsters and street signs.  The ugly results can require much work and expense to remove.   The number of incidences of graffiti continues to increase in our city each year; over 90% of them are the result of gangs marking or “tagging” their respective areas of turf and sending messages to rival gangs. 
 

The city’s graffiti program is administered by the Park and Recreation Department, which handles removal, and the Police Department’s Gang Unit, which tracks the locations and messages to monitor for possible gang activity and to create various types of reports.   Parks’ goal is to have HATE graffiti removed within 24 hours or less of its reporting, and GANG graffiti eliminated within three working days.  Although police patrols of the City’s Neighborhood Based Service Delivery (NBSD) Program are constantly on the lookout for and reporting graffiti sightings, the Parks and Police Departments rely on the eyes of the public to help them eliminate graffiti.

How to Report Graffiti

Anyone, anywhere, anytime can report the location and nature of a graffiti sighting to the Park and Recreation Department via email  or phone (515) 248-6350 or the Police Graffiti Hot Line: (515) 237-1808.   
 

Facts About Grafitti in Des Moines

Following are the number of reported graffiti incidences in the past three years:

2007 – 1121
2008 – 1277
2009  - 1392

Over 90% of these graffiti cases are  gang-related. 50% of them occur on private property and the other 50% are on public property. Private property includes places of business, houses, garages, fences and other buildings. Public property includes bridges, over- and under-passes, freeway walls on the non-DOT side, utility boxes and poles, trees, sidewalks, park property, etc.  Schools and the DOT take care of their own incidences of graffiti so the numbers cited do not include graffiti on those properties. Also not included are incidences taken care of by private property owners without being reported to police.

The City contracts graffiti removal through a bid process; the current contract is for $43.50/hour plus the cost of paint supplies, which is generally around $5,000 annually. White paint is used on the majority of surfaces; when paint is not the solution, a product called Elephant Snot is used for removal on fences, metal buildings, etc.