Buellton Community Garden to Have Official Opening on September 7

A Testament to the Buellton Community and the Work of Annie Yakutis and Greg Erickson

By Lauren Chiou Fri Sep 06, 2024 | 10:53am

The Buellton Community Garden is set to have its official opening on September 7. The garden was made possible by artist Alexandra “Annie” Yakutis and her husband, Greg Erickson, along with support from the Buellton community.

The Buellton Community Garden (BCG) consists of 46 gardening beds available to the community, with some already being reserved and two being ADA-compliant. Buellton residents have priority for the beds, but anyone is welcome to apply.

The idea for the garden sparked when Yakutis and Erickson moved from Santa Ynez Valley to Buellton in 2010. Yakutis began working to restore the land next to their leased industrial space over the next 10 years, creating a habitat for nature and relaxation.

While taking neighborhood walks during the pandemic in 2020, Yakutis noticed the pre-existing gardens in the community, taking note of what plants struggled and thrived in the natural environment. She began growing cherry tomatoes, bush beans, dills, parsley, cilantro, and Japanese cucumbers in leftover wine barrels around her parking lot.

During her time serving on the City of Buellton Arts & Culture Committee, Yakutis learned how local school gardens operated. Using this knowledge, she began to brainstorm for a larger project with the help of Erickson and other community members. Yakutis found a city-owned lot at Central Avenue that would later become the Community Garden.

In 2021, Yakutis made progress on her project, attending the city’s Green Team meetings and meeting with potential collaborators while developing her vision for the garden. She presented her concept to the Buellton City Council in April of 2021 and received unanimous support, which helped gain community attention and fiscal sponsorship. Cal Poly Landscape and Architecture Professor Aaron Liggett proposed the project for his second-year design students, who visited the site for a Q&A session with the garden’s steering committee. Student artwork was presented at Yakutis’s studio.

The year 2022 brought more community outreach and interest. Additional Cal Poly student artwork for the community garden was included in another presentation to the Buellton City Council, which instructed the garden to move forward. In October 2022, City Council voted to allow the garden to use the lot and have water for the next decade.

Raised beds at the Buellton Community Garden | Photo: Courtesy

In 2023, Erickson got involved in the project to contribute his design and building background, along with connections in the Santa Ynez Valley. He secured numerous donations from entities such as Central Coast Agriculture (CCA), which provided mulch and soil. Industrial Eats also became a partner in the project, providing the committee with a regular meeting space and silent auction fundraiser.

The $6,400 City of Buellton grant was funded in July of 2023, along with the $9,500 Buellton’s Arts & Culture Committee funded in November. Both of these grants contributed to the construction of the garden, creating artist/builder-designed gates and entrances, perimeter fencing, and irrigation.

Over the following year, the garden continued to take shape, with mulch being donated by CCA and raised beds being built. By the summer of 2024, the Buellton Community Garden was completed and ready to be introduced to the public!

The Buellton Community Garden kick-off will begin at 9 a.m. and go until noon on Saturday, September 7. The public will have the opportunity to meet the organization’s founders, volunteers, and board of directors will be present. Refreshments will be available.

“When we began, this was just a vacant dirt lot. Look at it now,” Erickson said.

“Future gardeners at BCG will be taking home ‘legacy vegetables’ — abundant produce made possible by the literal spade work of hundreds of volunteer hours. This garden grows the Buellton community,” he continued.

The garden is a part of the Buellton Community Educational Foundation’s nonprofit umbrella, and credits Buellton’s Central Coast Agriculture for its investment in the project. Community leaders Holly Sierra, Judith Dale, Bob Blokdyk, Aaron Liggett and Larry Bishop have also supported the project throughout its journey and transformation.

The garden is located at 480 Central Avenue in Buellton. For more information on the garden and how to donate, visit the Buellton Garden website.