Artist Krystal Roraback, a three-year member of the Sylvan Community Garden, is painting colorful new murals that will turn all four walls of the once-plain tan tool shed into an inviting gateway to the garden. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan 

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Step into the grounds of the Sylvan Community Garden at the corner of Sylvan Road and Stock Ranch Road in Citrus Heights on an average weekday and you’ll see volunteers busy at work tending beds full of blooming flowers and fresh vegetables.

The garden is always improving, and there’s always something new to see.

“We’re in the process of getting reorganized to transition into a new garden year while enjoying the recent spring growth throughout the garden,” said its president, Ted Miyashiro.

First-time visitors who want to learn about the garden are always welcome to drop by, he said.

So too are those who may also want to pick up some fresh compost for their garden which is available in a large blue Republic Services container just outside the fence.

The general atmosphere at the Sylvan Community Garden is decidedly relaxed and always welcoming.

What was once a plot of land used as a construction site dump area at the corner of Sylvan Road and Stock Ranch Road, not far from Citrus Heights City Hall, is celebrating its 26th year as a community-operated garden and education center.

Artist Krystal Roraback, a three-year member of the Sylvan Community Garden, is painting colorful new murals that will turn all four walls of the once-plain tan tool shed into an inviting gateway to the garden.

The first mural facing Stock Ranch Road features a purple-framed large yellow sunflower silhouetted against a blue sky surrounded by several hovering rainbow-colored butterflies. When complete, this mural will be dedicated to the garden’s original founding members, Roraback said.

“Good Things Grow Here,” painted in light blue script adorns a second educational mural Roraback has also started working on. The pencil outlines of fruits and vegetables grown in the garden are featured close to ground level.

 Sylvan Community Garden. Photo by Thomas J. Sullivan 

“We’ll be inviting children who visit the garden to see if they can spot all of the different details in the mural,” she said.

Once inside the garden, and looking back at the shed, a fall cornucopia themed mural is finished. In this area, bins will be placed where fresh produce is regularly donated to local food closets,” Roraback said.

“We’ve been busy making an identity for ourselves by creating a community garden with more creative expression which also still fully meets the needs of the membership,” Miyashiro said.

Miyashiro said it’s the genuine camaraderie and friendship he enjoys with his fellow garden members and the common passion and purposes they share.

Born in Hawaii, and a University of Arkansas graduate, Miyashiro retired from Caltrans where he enjoyed a career as a professional landscape architect.

The Sylvan Community Garden serves a wide range of age groups and disabilities in its general membership. Construction of a new handicap access ramp to the tool shed in the garden should start soon, he said.

A mural depicting garden tools of all types will soon be featured there, he said.

Membership board elections are also coming up soon. Miyashiro said he’s optimistic a new cycle of leadership will step forward and continue to improve the “community” within the garden he has come to know and value during his term as president.

The volunteer membership of the garden does feel like an extended family, he explains. “The heart of the garden is truly in its (volunteer) membership.”

New members are always welcome to help tend to 72 individual raised-wood planting beds which needed attention. 

“We’re looking to both increase our membership and also educate the community about what the Sylvan Ranch Community Garden is really all about,” said Miyashiro.

Membership at a Sunflower level (supporter, $20 per garden year) allows for the receipt of news and event announcements with eligibility to attend educational seminars.

A ripe Tomato (member, $45 per garden year) has full access to the garden, is eligible to attend educational seminars and can participate in and harvest from all common areas.

Membership at the Basil (Gardener level) is $65 per garden year and includes full access to the garden, assignment of a 4-by-20-foot plot for personal gardening, attendance at all educational seminars, and participation in and harvesting from all common areas.

While fruits and vegetables grown organically at the Sylvan Ranch Community Garden are mostly for personal use, a substantial portion is donated to local food closets, including the Sunrise Food Bank, Miyashiro said.

Two areas of the community garden are set aside for that purpose, and on average, some 1,000 pounds or more of fresh produce are donated to food closets each year, according to Miyashiro.

Upcoming events include a continuing series of helpful, informal fall educational seminars.

“In the fall we are planning an apple harvest from our trees and announcing an apple pie social for our members,” he said.

The Sylvan Ranch Community Garden began with a vision by former Citrus Heights Mayor Jeannie Bruins in 2004 to create a sustainable local organic garden for use by city residents.

An initial group of members met to plan the garden layout, how it would operate and how it would be funded. The City of Citrus Heights then leveled the ground and the project was started.

Today, the Sylvan Ranch Community Garden at the corner of Sylvan Road and Stock Ranch Road is open from dawn to dusk for its about 50 regular members. Work days are on the third Saturday of each month.

Visit sylvanranchgarden.org to learn more about the Sylvan Ranch Community Garden and how to apply for membership. The public is also invited to follow the community garden on social media at facebook.com/SylvanRanchCG.