Bowmanville Garden

Set against the imposing, gray stone wall Rosehill Cemetery directly to the north, The Bowmanville Community Garden has a long history and has undergone several transformations during its history. Residents scouted the neighborhood for suitable locations for community gardening and identified space on Bowmanville Avenue along the cemetery wall at the intersection of Balmoral and Leavitt as an ideal locale. 

The original garden was 150 feet long and is where our central trellis is located and the iconic “Welcome to Beautiful Bowmanville” sign. Thus began Bowmanville’s commitment to creating an urban landscape with lush public gardens to complement the lovely private gardens that have long been a prized feature of this community.

The Bowmanville Community Garden is now 520 feet long and includes lush landscape, several resting spots, and an area of community vegetable plots at the east end.  A path connects the vegetable gardens on the east end to the BCO GreenSpace park area at the west end of the cemetery wall.  Neighbors can apply for vegetable plots in the Bowmanville garden on an annual basis.

Bowmanville Community Garden is home to a wide variety of native perennials such as Black-Eyed Susans, Liatris and Switch Grass, as well as dogwood, redbud and pear trees. It also includes benches, a winding footpath, and a trellis. In addition to offering a beautiful green space for the community, this 2007 and 2009 1st place winner in Mayor Daley’s Community Landscape Award, provides a place for community activities, educational opportunities, and artistic expression.

The Bowmanville Community Garden is one of over 100 NeighborSpace protected garden spaces in Chicago.