El Paseo Community Garden and Park in Pilsen is Fern’s favorite park in the city. We hope this blog post will tell more people about this wonderful park! El Paseo Community Garden has the most beautiful garden beds, murals, and play structures.
Murals
The murals at El Paseo are so beautiful and tell a wonderful story. Make sure you spend time enjoying the murals when you visit the park, but also check out the design process here.
Bee Keeping
Bee Keeping. Enough said.
Little Free Library
If you have been following us for a minute, you know we love out Little Free Libraries, and no community park is complete without one.
Children’s Play Area: The Hive
Recognize the design in this picture? A bee hive, maybe? This is the children’s nature play area. Wouldn’t you love to run around in a structure that looks like a bee hive? Check out the story behind The Hive.
Permaculture Garden
Permaculture gardens have a lot of herbs and plants that can be helpful to humans. We love that El Paseo has provided us with information on all the plants in the permaculture garden. This is a new-ish addition to the garden, and every time we go there, we are more amazed by the beauty and growth.
Compost
Fern used to bring her compost to El Paseo park every week, sometimes twice a week. However, the city ordinance changed and the park has to charge for compost drop-off. Fern decided to go to a location closer to her house, but misses her weekly trips to the “compost park.” But how cool is it that this park grows vegetables that use the compost soil? So cool.
Community Garden Beds
We love the idea of community gardens because so many people in urban areas live in places that do not have a backyard or space for a successful garden. We love visiting El Paseo in the summer and early fall because the garden bills are beautiful! Looking to become a garden member? Check this out.
Tables and Benches
Need a few minutes to just sit and take in the beauty of the park? We love sitting on the benches and reading a book or just looking out at the murals or garden beds. This is the most peaceful park and it is sometimes hard to tell that it is in the city of Chicago.
Community Events
El Paseo has so many community events throughout the year. Check out their Instagram page to keep up with the events. They have everything from yoga to stewardship days to pumpkin collection, to kid garden days.
Reading this article really reminds me of growing up in the Philippines. So peaceful around, gardening so natural. Thank you for sharing with us!
This is so awesome! Such a great way to get the community together and do something positive!
What a cute area! Those murals are amazing.