Where neighbors grow food, share knowledge, and build community.Alief Community Garden
Welcome
A Note from Our Garden Manager
Hello! My name is Casey Sheek, and I’m the manager of the Alief Community Garden. I’ve spent the last 20 years involved with gardening in one way or another, and the last three of them here — this garden feels like home, and I’d love for you to experience it too.
Tucked away from the gray hustle and bustle of the city, the garden is an amazing green space. Stay a while and you can almost forget you’re in one of the most populated cities in the country. Butterflies, bees, and birds greet every visitor among brilliant arrays of color and plant life, both within the plots and all around the space.
Whether you come to grow, to lend a hand, or simply to sit under a tree and soak in the peacefulness, there’s a place for you here. Please reach out anytime for more information or to schedule a group visit — I look forward to seeing you in the garden.
— Casey Sheek
Alief Community Garden Manager
Get Involved
Lease a Plot or Lend a Hand
The garden offers 85 raised-bed plots to lease — each 4 ft × 25 ft (100 sq ft) — for $10 a month, plus 15 hours a year helping care for the shared space. It’s room to grow food for yourself or to share with others.
No plot required to pitch in — Saturday mornings, 8 am–12 pm, are the busiest times to volunteer or get more information, and we welcome school groups and organized tours.
Find us at 8409½ Dairy View Lane, Houston — one of the largest community gardens in the city.
Our Story
Built by the Community, in a Single Day
On September 17, 2011, an army of volunteers — neighbors, students, and Boy Scouts of all ages and cultures — gathered on a wide-open piece of Alief ISD land and built the first 25 raised beds in a single day. That afternoon a rainstorm broke a year-long drought, and at 12:55 pm the Alief Community Garden was born.
It has since grown into one of the largest community gardens in Houston — 85 plots tended by around 40 active members, a tree farm that has greened medians across Alief, a university-designed pavilion, and a young orchard, with a greenhouse on the way.
Gallery
Around the Garden
Latest Harvest from Our Community Garden
Stories, recipes, and updates from the gardeners and volunteers who keep this place growing.
Built in a Single Day: How the Alief Community Garden Began
How an army of neighbors, students, and Boy Scouts built the Alief Community Garden in a single rainy day in September 2011.
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A garden of international delights keeps ‘growing’ in Alief
Each plot takes you to a different place at the Alief Community Garden. A dozen cactus plants reach upward of 4 feet on a 25-foot-long be…
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The Rather Prize: Innovative Ideas in TX Ed | SXSW EDU 2021
Awarding $10,000 to the the best idea in Texas education, the Rather Prize at SXSW EDU 2021 will help identify not only the strongest ide…
Read more“The garden is more than vegetables. It’s where I met half the people on my block — and where my kids learned what a tomato is supposed to taste like.”
