Coates remembered tending to her grandfather’s garden in the summertime as parks and recreation department Play Frisco held a ribbon-cutting for The Harvest at Frisco Commons. She said she would often be in “very big trouble” for picking all of his cherry tomatoes.
“This was a dream of staff for quite some time,” Coates said. “And the good news is that as this becomes more and more popular, we have room to expand. So, if we wanted to add fruit trees or other things ... there are lots of opportunities for that.”
The Harvest at Frisco Commons offers residents and volunteers a space for produce and public education. Small garden boxes measuring 4 feet by 10 feet cost $75 per year in a one-time, nonrefundable fee to be paid online. Large boxes measuring 4 feet by 20 feet cost $150 per year.
The garden has 88 beds for lease, and 33% of the beds were already leased ahead of the ribbon-cutting, according to Play Frisco. Coates encouraged new gardeners not to be intimidated, as the parks and recreation department has coordinated with Frisco garden clubs and masters to help residents.
Mayor Jeff Cheney attended the ceremony, and said the vision for Frisco Commons Park has always been to unite multiple generations. One example he gave was any grandmother or grandfather visiting The Grove at Frisco Commons senior citizen center, then having their grandchildren visit them.
“We wanted it to be a multigenerational park, a park that would lead to interactions that would lead to stories,” Cheney said. “This [garden] is very much an extension of that.”
Frisco resident Terry Houser signed up for a gardening box the day of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Houser said he has more than 10 years of gardening experience, including cultivating tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and more.
Although Houser said he has only been a Frisco resident for about five months, the longtime gardener was excited for the new community fixture.
“I love to garden, and I live in an apartment,” Houser said. “This is going to help fulfill that.”
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