Growing

she will also plant arugula, mustard greens, lemongrass and lamb’s quarters — a wild plant that she said has the vitamins and taste of spinach.

Her garden neighbors have planted tomatoes, asparagus, sweet potatoes, a fig tree, cotton and sunflowers that grew to seven feet, among many other things, Rhea said.

“You see the butterflies and the bunny rabbits and you get to know the people who have a plot near you if you didn’t already know them,” Rhea said. “People swap produce and seeds. … It’s a joy.”

Plots for pantries

Community gardens provide a way for gardeners with no yards or whose yards have little sun to cultivate flowers and vegetables. These gardens typically include charity, or “pantry” rows where volunteers grow produce for donation to nearby charities or to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

The food bank offers everything from expertise to tools to volunteer support to about 150 community gardens across metro Atlanta in the course of a year, said Fred Conrad, community

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