By Taylor Adams Cogan

Across America, we have neighborhoods that have been ripped apart by highways cutting through to allow for urban sprawl. You can see this in countless cities, including Dallas, where highways sever through areas, like I-30, which wrecked through to cut off the southern part of our city. You can also find it at I-345, the elevated highway you have to walk under if you want to get from the Central Business District to Deep Ellum.

It’s a better walk than it used to be – we have art bringing vibrance to the short commute. But on the southern end of this pass is more than beauty; it’s a place where neighbors have been able to bring people together.

It was about 2011 when then-Deep Ellum Community Association President Sean Fitzgerald, Kelly Clemons, and other neighbors started working on what would become the Deep Ellum Urban Gardens. And Melissa Cauldwell was in love with them from the start, initially working on the fundraising committee and helping with marketing. By 2013, they were fully open, with neighbors taking care of their own boxed-in plots.

“It was a good thing to start off and have fun together, it’s kind of a mix of everybody in the garden. It’s handmade, and made from the community, people who live in Deep Ellum, downtown, Dallas Farmers Market,” Melissa says. “It’s good to get the community together.”

When they had just started the effort, Deep Ellum Brewing Company was new and the go-to for meetings. More businesses opened up as years went on, and, as people do, some neighbors moved away. But Melissa stayed on the committee, kept investing her time, and now she’s the face of this community hub, putting countless hours into the effort.

With two nearly-grown children, a husband, and a job in advertising, she doesn’t have to give her spare time to anything, but she has for nearly 15 years to this garden – because she loves it, and because it serves her community.

“It’s the mindset that some people need to get out and be a kid, get your hands dirty,” she says. “Some people like to build, some people are Master Gardeners – really serious – and some people, like my husband, who like to build things.”

This was even clearer when the pandemic hit. The garden was open, with people coming at different times.

“Doctors and first responders could be away from everybody on their own little time, decompose, relax, not think about life, and just grow something,” she says. “Just relax, it’s a mental break.”

They also work with Cafe Momentum: “They might not like to grow a whole lot, but it’s nice for he kids to get out, and they’re enjoying the greenspace,” she says.

Luckily, to have this space, no one had to go tear up parking spots. When DECA started the process, they couldn’t find land that didn’t require such demolition, but they worked with then-Councilmember for District 2, Pauline Medrano, and found the median where they are today. Not only was it earth and not asphalt, but it already had water and electricity. The design is still based on traffic flow – fences are in certain areas because stop signs are needed, Melissa says. But the agreement they made with the city for this little space has allowed 124 four-by-four plots to grow.

“We did a lot of research on whether we wanted to have raised beds or just on the ground, even though we did the soil assessments, we did all that, there is a railroad track that runs right behind it and across the street, it was an industrial area,” she says.

Raised beds could be easier on people. While it’s a nice project to get outside, it wasn’t meant to be burdensome on anyone’s back. Melissa says they’ve also worked to keep the price low at $75 for a year, which includes tools. People water their own lots and take care of what they choose to grow.

“In the beginning, everybody was there and stayed, now people leave, a lot of young people stay for a while, and leave, which we get, so it’s ever changing,” she says. “It’s not the same group of people who started the garden, but we’re still trying to do that neighborhood thing, monthly get-together, that type of stuff.”

You can find out about those get-togethers on the group’s Facebook page, which also includes images of vibrant, growing plants if you’re not yet convinced to grow your own produce. It’s a mix of people who don’t need anything in common to come together, other than they get their hands in dirt once in a while.

Melissa has grown various vegetables and fruits through the years, including mini sugar baby watermelons and zucchini at the time of this interview. She even took some fresh herbs she grew to Deep Ellum Distillery during the pandemic for their cocktails.

She’s been able to find a balance in her life, one that’s rooted in the garden.

“I like to go hiking, vacationing, and stuff like that. We also like to walk our dog around the neighborhood. It’s a balance between work, life, and fun stuff,” she says. “A garden is work/fun/family. It’s in all three categories. It helped my step-daughters; they ended up growing some things, they eat them, and aren’t scared of some things. You can make cilantro-lime rice at home when you grow cilantro.

“It all kind of works together.”