There are, after all, plans to be made, seeds to be prepared and plots to be readied.

 While there's no question that it takes plenty of time and patience and planning to devise how your own garden in your own yard may look, the reality for people living in increasingly urban areas is that it is often difficult to afford to have land of your own.

 Skyrocketing land prices and the crunch for space for developments often makes it difficult for the typical town or city resident to have the space necessary to pursue even the simplest of gardening dreams.

 That's part of the reason why the idea of the community garden has taken such an upswing in recent years.

 The setting aside of public land for use by the wider community as a garden site has literally taken root in many communities in Nova Scotia and here on the South Shore in particular.

 In Bridgewater, the urban hub of the South Shore, a from-the-ground-up community garden initiative finally found some traction this past spring.

 For several years, there had been interest in various quarters of the community about the concept of developing a community garden. However, after several calls were put out, the dedicated response was still somewhat tepid.

 That all changed earlier this year, however, when members of the town's parks, recreation and culture committee decided to take a more active approach.

 At an April 6 meeting, more than 30 local residents attended to discuss the potential that such a community garden project held for Bridgewater. During the course of the evening, it became clear that there was wide-ranging support for the project, with many individuals not only offering to volunteer their time, but also goods and services to make the garden a reality.

 Committee chairman David Mitchell noted, after the inaugural meeting, that donations of money, topsoil and compost bins had been pledged that very evening - and that was from just one meeting.

 As a result of the public's response, Bridgewater Town Council made a subsequent commitment to support the Bridgewater community garden initiative.

 Council pre-approved a sum of $4,000 seed money to help the project get off the ground and it also offered up a significant piece of highly visible property running parallel to Aberdeen Road as a home for the project.

 The plan going forward for Bridgewater's community garden is that a number of 4' x 8' raised beds will be constructed, creating accessible plots where participants will be able to grow flowers or vegetables.

 While the project in Bridgewater is still in its infancy, other community gardens all over North America and, indeed, the world have proven that there is a high social value in pursuing such projects - and that sowing the seeds for a community garden initiative can have profound, long-term, positive impacts for the communities in which they take hold.

 The Nova Scotia Environment Network notes in a flyer it produced on community gardens that such projects which encourage people to grow their own food helps to ensure that participants, regardless of background, have access to nutritional food.

 The maintenance of community gardens also encourages participants to be physically active, as there is a strength and flexibility component to gardening. The health benefits from being involved in a community garden range from a strengthened immunity to decreased stress and an overall sense of physical well-being.

 Beyond the personal benefits, community gardens are also known to go a long way socially, by engaging people across age demographics on a unifying project.

 Working together with a common purpose on a project such as a community garden can enable people from different walks of life and encourage gardeners to work together to solve problems and make community-minded decisions.

 Perhaps most importantly, community gardens foster a sense of stewardship and ownership and promote the development of a community identity and a civic spirit.

 For more information on the benefits of community gardens, please visit http://www.nsen.ca.