The Future of the Terborgh Terrace Garden

The Terborgh Terrace Garden (TTG) is NVCT’s dynamic urban garden and pocket park in North Arlington. It will not only produce hundreds of pounds of produce for local food pantries but also serve as a community hub for hands-on land conservation education. Created in 2023 through collaboration with Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture (FOUA), we are excited about the future of this property and the community that will build around it. 

If you were to visit the TTG today, you would probably wonder, “Where are all the vegetables?". Terborgh is missing many key elements needed to get off the ground. The first problem we tackled was the invasive plant species completely covering the property. NVCT and FOUA hosted several invasive pulls together to eliminate English Ivy and Firebush on the property, to name a few. We have cleared most of the site , but invasives are persistent, and continued maintenance will always be needed. We plan to continue hosting clearing events throughout the spring now and in the future. 

There have been attempts to grow produce at TTG, but they largely failed due to enterprising animals in the area who found some tasty meals. Our first attempt was a mix of beans and wheat to serve as a cover crop to protect the garden beds from erosion and keep them fertile. Unfortunately, these crops were eaten by rabbits and deer, who dug up potatoes we tried growing later in the year. Arlington residents are no strangers to the white-tailed deer prevalent in the area, so deer fencing is a must to keep our future crops safe.  

The land's health beautifies the space and ensures that everything we grow in the garden thrives. Experienced gardeners know that if nearby nature is thriving, your garden plants will too - often so well that nature might decide to stop by for a snack! We also plan to install a rain garden to collect rainwater runoff and a pollinator garden to attract native pollinators to help pollinate our crops! Native plant seeds are needed so that the garden's ecosystem can flourish and, in turn, ensure our garden is in tip-top shape.  

Our goal is to start planting produce by the end of this spring or summer so we can have a summer and fall harvest.  Luckily, we’ve received some help to get us started. Nestlé USA has committed to an Earth Day workday with us, where their employee volunteers will install multiple key garden infrastructure items and additional items for the community! They will be installing a Little Free Library where books and nonperishable food can be donated, a shed, protective structures for garden beds and deer netting to help keep hungry wildlife out. While deer fencing would be ideal, these protective structures are what we will try first and can allow us to start growing produce while we gather funds for a fence.  We are extremely grateful to Nestlé for not only giving back to the community, but seeing the vision we see for TTG and the potential it has for the Arlington community. They’re help will help us grow this garden, and the community surrounding it.

 “We’re excited to be onsite later this month and support TTG through hands-on volunteer work to help prepare the garden,” said Dan McCabe, Sr. Manager, Community Affairs at Nestlé USA. “Leveraging the power of our people to support the communities where we live and work is core to Nestlé, and TTG’s mission to help increase access to food and provide educational opportunities will have a big impact on the Arlington community.”

We envision TTG as a garden that doubles as a community space and a place for learning about land stewardship. We want to install educational signage throughout the property, educating visitors about everything that grows on the property, both naturally and in the garden. We also want to ensure this garden is as accessible as possible, given that it backs up to the popular Donaldson Run trail. Some of the infrastructure we hope to add to this preserve are benches, picnic tables, and a permeable stone path to ensure everyone can get around and enjoy this space. We would also like to honor everyone who has been a part of the work and the memory of Anne Terborgh by including plaques for donors and sponsors.  

 TTG exemplifies our belief that we all share the land we live on and the responsibility of taking care of it.  We hope that the volunteer base will grow once this garden begins to grow.  Garden tools stored in the shed and a hose installed on the property will help those involved with this garden care for it independently, not just when NVCT or FOUA hosts events. Once this volunteer base and garden become more established, we hope to be more hands-off, allowing the community that forms around this garden to chart its future. This would give residents a real sense of responsibility to the land and have an outdoor outlet that also gives back to those in need! 

Luckily, our dreams aren’t far out of reach. The goal is to raise a total of $55,000 by May 1st. We are currently at $38,428 and have $16,572 to go! Please consider donating to this effort to combat food insecurity, educate others about the importance of land stewardship, and create something we can all share. TTG is a way for you and NVCT to give back to the community through creative land protection. Please join us in tending to this land so that it can grow into something meaningful with long-lasting impacts for those who need it most!