Welcome to the P-Patch.

I must have driven past this place a hundred times before noticing the gentle slope of a low roof line just above the bramble alongside the road.

In conjunction with Seattle Parks Departments, 23 acres are spread all over the city where people can plant their own garden. Community style. And every year, they add more space. You get access to water, composting, amended soil, other like minded gardeners, fresh air, and they even serve lunch on Saturdays.

It's really amazing to see all the different kinds of flowers, vegetables and even techniques various people employ in their craft. Ingenious in many ways.

In one corner, lavender (a new personal favorite of mine) borders the line between serenity and the chaos outside -- all the while quietly emitting a relaxing scent that wafts over and through the rows.

In a few areas, flags from different countries fly from makeshift poles. The Swiss (if memory serves) seem to have commandeered this particular plot at the west end. The Italians have claimed the Northeast corner. And in between, like the rest of the world, people plod along, turning the soil and tending to what's right in front of them.