Project proposal
A beautiful garden where seniors in transitional housing at St. Mary's Center in West Oakland can rest, connect and thrive
TodayThe garden
St. Mary's Center has a concrete yard behind its senior transitional housing. This project turns it into a shaded garden the residents can use every day and that St. Mary's can host in. Volunteers build it over three community days and it finishes with a celebration for everyone who made it happen.
| Site | Concrete yard of about 48 by 45 feet off 32nd St, measurements to be confirmed |
| Daily use | Tea with a friend, a quiet place to nap, shade, flowers and easy fruit |
| Budget | $3K to $10K, scaled to what we raise |
| Funding | A St. Mary's grant plus outside sponsors |
| Community days | Target February to April 2027 |
This is a garden for the people who live here. It's a place to sit with a friend over a cup of tea, read a book in the shade, put your feet up or wander past the flowers and fruit trees.
This 3D model was built from site photos. It opens on the yard as it is today. Drag to rotate and scroll or pinch to zoom, and use the buttons to compare each option.
Planters run out from the fences and turn the yard into a few small rooms, so you can sit with a friend or sit alone and feel tucked away. The middle stays open so hosting is easy. This is the recommended option.
One long outdoor living room along the north fence, which gets the best sun and is where people already sit. The standing planters act as its railing and the tea tables sit on the quieter side.
A garden island in the middle with fruit trees and a wide path all the way around it. You can do a lap with a walker and stop at a tea table along the way. It's the most garden of the three and the hardest to water.
Staff said the gate feels like a prison from the inside. All three options replace the worn reed with bamboo poles and add jasmine and bamboo plants along the fixed part. The steel stays so it's just as secure.
All three options can host and Garden Rooms is the easiest because the middle stays open. Tables come out of storage and the truck corner is free on event days.
The project is designed to finish at any of these four levels. These are for Garden Rooms and each level builds on the last.
| About $3K | One tea spot, the nap spot, one umbrella, a standing planter and barrels of fruit and flowers. |
| About $5K | Adds a second tea spot and umbrella, drip watering and the new fence. |
| About $8K | Adds three more standing planters, native flower beds, the passion fruit trellis and a third umbrella. |
| About $10K | The full yard with the glider bench, the bamboo planters and a fourth umbrella. |
These are rough estimates and assume most furniture and materials are found used. Plants, soil, fence and watering are bought new. Bought entirely new the full yard is about $13K. The old planters on the side of the building could lower this if they're still solid.
The grant pays for a finished garden. On top of that we raise money through a registry, sort of like a baby shower. People can chip in any amount toward an item or buy the whole thing, and everyone can watch it fill up.
Sample of the live site with made-up numbers
Fully fundedA dwarf lemon in a half barrel with soil
$180 of $180 4 gifts
Bought new and planted. Gifted by 4 neighbors.
65% fundedNine foot umbrella with a heavy base
$215 of $330 6 gifts
Fully fundedSmall table and two armchairs
$250 of $250 1 gift
Bought new. Gifted by one family.
25% fundedWaist high cedar planter, filled and planted
$140 of $550 3 gifts
15% fundedA gentle rocking bench for two
$40 of $260 1 gift
21% fundedPlanter, soil and a season of native flowers
$95 of $450 2 gifts
Sat Feb 20, 10 to 12 people
Clear the yard, set the planters and fill them with soil.
Sat Mar 20, 12 to 16 people
Volunteers and residents plant together. At a separate table anyone can paint a panel for the mural on the storage shed.
Sat Apr 24, about 50 people plus residents
The mural stays covered until a planned unveiling. Then we open the garden with live music from friends, BBQ and screen printing.
Invite only: residents and staff, sponsors, and anyone who came out for a build or planting day.
Dates are targets and will move with funding. A friend will shoot photos and video at all three days, and residents choose whether they're on camera.
