ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today was joined by the County’s Department of Recreation & Parks Director Nick Mooneyhan, the Columbia Gardeners, the Community Action Council of Howard County, MD Inc. (CAC), and community members to officially open the department’s new “Community Garden at Old Montgomery Road” in Ellicott City. Photos from the event can be found on Howard County Government’s Flickr website and video on the County Executive’s Facebook website.
Community gardens are about so much more than growing food ... they’re about growing community. The opening of our new Community Garden on Old Montgomery Road gives residents – whether a novice gardener or an expert, a place where they can come together, cultivate friendships, sharing knowledge, and enjoy the great outdoors, all while growing their own nutritious, fresh, and affordable foods. We’re proud of what this community garden stands for and the opportunities it creates for our residents to build a stronger, healthier, and more sustainable community together.
Located on Old Montgomery Road, just north of the MD 100 overpass and Maryland School for the Deaf, this 16.22-acre community space features 126 standard-size garden plots where Howard County residents from Ellicott City to Elkridge and beyond can grow fresh produce and flowers, along with a parking lot and storage area. Additionally, of the 126 garden plots:
- 25 will be Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible, featuring raised garden beds to allow wheelchair bound individuals, or anyone unable to comfortably bend down to the ground, the opportunity to plant, tend, and harvest alongside their neighbors;
- Two will be dedicated to Recreation & Parks’ Therapeutic Recreation Division to conduct relevant programs; and
- Five will be dedicated to the CAC
The Old Montgomery Road Community Garden is Howard County's fourth community garden site and the first located outside Columbia's borders, extending access to residents in the Elkridge and Ellicott City areas. The new location increases the County's total number of community garden plots to 699.
The foundations of communities are anchored through access to parks, open spaces, and community gardens. They create welcoming places where residents can gather, learn, and grow together. We are excited to expand these opportunities to Elkridge and Ellicott City residents while continuing to make gardening accessible through inclusive programming and partnerships.
As Howard County’s designated non-profit anti-poverty organization for more than 60 years, the CAC strives to help hard-working individuals and families overcome economic challenges and achieve lasting self-sufficiency through its five core services: Early Childhood Education, Energy Assistance, Housing Assistance, Weatherization Assistance, and Food Assistance. The five garden plots designated for CAC, will provide fresh produce to the organization’s Food Assistance program’s Howard County Food Bank in Columbia and future facility in Jessup. This past September, Ball broke ground on CAC’s new Route One Corridor Campus, which will feature a new flagship Food Bank facility and Early Childhood Education Center. The campus will provide access to critical services for hardworking families living in Elkridge, Jessup, Savage, and North Laurel.
“Access to fresh produce is essential to healthy living. The Community Action Council of Howard County’s Howard County Food Bank is proud to partner with Howard County Recreation and Parks to ensure everyone has the opportunity to grow fresh food, bring it home, and enjoy a healthy meal with their family—regardless of their economic circumstances,” said Tracy Broccolino, President, CAC.
The Community Garden at Old Montgomery Road is the fourth community garden to be built by Recreation & Parks, in partnership with Columbia Gardeners – a local nonprofit organization that provides gardening opportunities in Howard County, and joins locations at Elkhorn, Long Reach, and West Side. Following the establishment of the County's first community garden at Elkhorn in 1977, additional sites opened in Long Reach and on Martin Road, with expansion continuing through 2010. In 2020, Howard County added new plots to the Long Reach Community Garden, the first expansion in a decade. Like the other three sites, Columbia Gardeners will lease out the plots and handle much of the day-to-day activities at the Community Garden at Old Montgomery Road.
“This community garden will be our fourth site and the first new one in nearly three decades, a period in which Howard County's population has grown by over 120,000 and our waitlist has grown with it,” said Amod Bhide, President, Columbia Gardeners, Inc. “It will provide plots to gardeners who have been waiting more than four years for a garden plot.”
“When we started talking about these garden plots, I kept coming back to one question: why shouldn’t everyone have the opportunity to garden? These plots were designed to make that possible for people who need an accessible space, while also giving us the flexibility to see how the community uses them. I’m excited to see what grows here—not just in the gardens, but in the possibilities for our community,” said Susan Potts, Therapeutic Recreation and Accommodation Services Manager, Department of Recreation & Parks.
In addition to continuing the County’s longstanding commitment to community gardening, the new Community Garden at Old Montgomery Road also supports Ball’s administration’s broader community goal of creating additional green space, encouraging sustainable practices, and improving access to fresh, healthy food. Community gardens provide residents without backyard space an opportunity to grow vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruits.
Moreover, this community garden is also one of several recent investments Ball’s administration has made around the county’s Elkridge community. In August, Ball broke ground on a new approximately 95,000-square-foot Elkridge Community and 50+ Center, that will house designated “General Recreation Program” spaces, 50+ spaces, and shared spaces, in addition to a playground and Howard County Police Department satellite police station. Once the new Elkridge Community and 50+ Center is complete, the County plans to renovate and expand the Howard County Library System’s Elkridge Branch.
In June, Ball announced Howard County Government has solidified the property necessary to advance the development of Howard County Public School System’s (HCPSS) High School #14 at Troy Park at Elkridge, with the finalization of Recreation & Parks’ Open Space Conversion with the State of Maryland.
In addition, Ball’s administration is:
- Developing the new Ilchester Recreation Center and Park at the former Girl Scouts of Central Maryland Camp Ilchester location – the County purchased the property back in 2022;
- Advancing transportation improvements;
- Increasing police visibility with the establishment of a new police satellite office at Green Valley Marketplace in Elkridge; and
- Expanding recreation opportunities with the addition of pickleball courts and a new playground to Rockburn Branch Park last fall and completed a tiny forest at the park this past spring.
For more information about Howard County's community gardens, including plot availability and registration, visit the Columbia Gardeners website to complete its “Wait List Request Form” online application. For questions about the online application form and/or the Community Garden at Old Montgomery, contact the Columbia Gardeners via email at columbiagardeners@gmail.com.