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282 JUDIT FARKAS
addition to self-supply, they also contributed to a pleasant-looking residential area.
The garden cities movement initiated by Ebenezer Howard was one of its
manifestations (see Howard: Garden Cities of To-morrow, 1902). The above¬
mentioned Wekerle Estate is another fine example. It is specifically known about
Wekerle Estate, that besides creating a harmonious environment, the planners
were also motivated by the intention to ease the life and adaptation of urban
workers, who were often newcomers from the villages to the city (Nagy — Szelényi
2008)."
The history of the contemporary community gardens discussed below began
in the early 1970s, when a group called Green Guerillas created a community
garden in New York with the name Bowery Houston Farm and Garden. It already
exemplified a main characteristic of community gardens, notably that in addition
to farming, great stress was laid on creating an active community with the ambition
of improving not only the natural but also the social quality of the city. Their
example influenced several others in the United States and in 1978, the American
Community Gardening Association was founded, which has inspired the establishment
of countless community gardens the world over (on the history of community
gardens, see Faczdnyi — Balogh 2015; Lawson 2005; Schmelzkopf 1995).
The appearance of the movement in Hungary is linked, on the one hand, to
the Hungarian member of the international movement Reclaim the Fields!, the
group Féldkelte [EarthRise], began to form a community garden in a privately
owned garden in 2010. The teething problems of the venture put an end to the
initiative within a year. The next step in Hungarian urban agricultural movements
is associated with Gabor Rosta and his partners, who launched the First Kis-Pest
Garden in 2012 on a municipal plot and with municipal support. Then, in the
same year, the Lecsôs [ratatouille] Garden and Leonardo Garden followed." Rosta
wrote a book about his experiences with the title Community Gardens. Neighborhood
communities, urban agriculture (2013), which has become an important reference
book for practicing gardeners (as well as writers of studies and dissertations).
Gergő Hajbas summary reveals chat community gardens can vary widely,
depending on where they are established (Hajba 2017): you can find them
downtown, in suburbs, elite neighborhoods and housing estates alike; there are
prison gardens, school gardens, community gardens on former churchyards; in
the backyards of neighboring one-family houses or in the green areas around
apartment blocks, or even roof gardens (Japan, USA). The land can be owned by
the municipality, a firm or a natural person. In Hungary, there are also community
gardens expressly supported by the municipal government (First Kis-Pest Garden).
Community gardens on the property of an institution are also present in Hungary,
for example, the DE Community Garden of Debrecen University.
The age distribution of garden members represents a broad spectrum, from
teenagers to the elderly (aged 80). Creating and running a community garden
requires more than tilling the land and working with the plants, as there are several
different chores to perform. This calls for and encourages diversity within the
membership: some have a role in negotiations (with proprietors and public utilities
firms), others write tenders, a member with good communication skills talks to
12
On the further history of urban agriculture, see Faczdnyi — Balogh 2015.
5 Source: https://www.varosikertek.hu/konyvek/kozossegi-kertek/