Lafayette Gardens Detroit

Voted best Detroit garden in 2022, Lafayette Greens is a green space and urban garden in the heart of downtown Detroit. It is a space for visitors, workers, and neighbourhood residents to enjoy and relax, grow produce and flowers and enjoy seasonal entertainment. Created by Kenneth Weikal Landscape Architecture, it was donated to The Greening of Detroit by Compuware in 2014.

Growing chemical-free fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers every year. The garden started focusing on pollinator habitats in 2019, as they are so rare in urban environments. Now the garden is a certified pollinator space and focuses on growing plants for butterflies, native and honey bees and birds. The garden grows more than 800 pounds of produce every season in its 35 raised beds, which is donated to Gleaner’s Community Food Bank and Freedom House.

Lafayette Green manages stormwater with an urban bioswale, combined with drought-tolerant Fescue lawns and a high-efficiency irrigation system with adjustable drip lines to conserve water. The pavers in the garden were originally broken sidewalk pieces from across the city. The garden sheds were constructed from reclaimed pallet wood and salvaged doors. And the planters used in the children’s garden were made from repurposed steel drums.

In relation to North Place, Lafayette Gardens is a successful example of urban agriculture. I have no qualms with the design layout. I am a fan of the drainage system and the overall ethos of the project. Being community-driven and productively supportive of local charities. However, the main differences between Cheltenham and Detroit is the scale of the urban landscape and access to productive green space. Cheltenham has 9 allotments run by the Burrough Council and an additional 12 sites predominantly managed by parish councils. The difference of course is that allotments are personally run and managed and require registration. Though I am fond of the idea of productive urban environments, and would like to include apple and pear varieties in the site plan.