TGE SG Directory 2026

28 2026 | Tower Grove East & South Grand Community Directory Trees now bear fruit at Community Orchard on Virginia The Community Orchard on Virginia began as an idea shared with then-Alderwoman Christine Ingrassia after four derelict buildings were torn down by the city and empty lots remained. A group of neighbors met and floated an idea for a community orchard that would be a space of beauty, where neighbors could gather and volunteers could meet to help build community by growing food. A small group of neighbors put together a plan that involved planting fruit trees, building a meeting space for community events and creating flower gardens. The group met with the Tower Grove East Neighborhood Association (TGENA) to start fundraising. They formed a committee to ensure the long-term goal of establishing and maintaining a community orchard would be met. The neighborhood association agreed to support the project.  Through TGENA, the orchard committee secured a Land Reutilization Authority (LRA) garden lease from the city to create the community orchard on city-owned property. To build the orchard, neighbors collected cardboard and spread it across the entire three-lot area to suppress weed growth. They brought in leaf mulch from the city to enrich the soil and held many neighborhood workdays to prepare the soil for trees to be planted. The committee held fundraisers to buy trees and secured grants from Operation Brightside to establish gardens in the orchard and then held neighborhood workdays to plant them. A TGE-based landscaping company volunteered to supply materials and build a fire pit with a gravel patio, benches and a table for community gatherings. A local Girl Scout troop also helped plant trees and make signs in the early phases of the orchard’s development. The first pawpaw tree, a stick no taller than a 7-year-old, was planted in 2014. As the neighbors continued their hard work to transform the space, property values in the area continued to rise and developers began to take an interest in the now-beautiful site. The committee decided it wanted to ensure the orchard would not be lost to development. They began a campaign to raise funds to buy the properties from the city and, working with Gateway Greening (now called Seed St. Louis), put them into a land trust. Enough money was raised, and the properties are now protected in Seed St. Louis’ Giving Grove Land Trust. The orchard is now firmly established in Tower Grove East as a space that helps to grow community by offering an opportunity for neighbors to get to know each other through volunteering and attending community events. We have mature peach, apple, sweet cherry, tart cherry, apricot, pawpaw and pear trees that all bear fruit! The space is available for neighbors to walk through every day and brings a little bit of the country into our city neighborhood. In 2025, the orchard hosted a spring egg hunt, among other activities. Volunteers from Roosevelt High School and other organizations referred by Seed St. Louis help with maintenance. Committee members also host a Halloween hayride in conjunction with the Tower Grove East Community Garden. If you would like to get involved with the Community Orchard, please attend a Tower Grove East Neighborhood Association meeting at Stray Dog Theatre or check us out on Facebook.