A south Medford community garden that sat unused and unkempt for the better part of a decade is now springing back to life thanks to a team of dedicated volunteers — not to mention some choice donations and partnerships along the way.

Boasting 19 new planting beds and amenities that include a newly restored irrigation system, the Holly Street Community Garden is accepting applications from volunteers and has grand ambitions to help everyone from elementary students to Medford’s Tree Committee.

In less than a year, the garden near Jefferson Elementary School has gone from a fenced-in space, waist-deep in debris, to a functional space ready for green thumbs of all ages, according to lead organizer Dana Kline.

Stepping into the greenhouse Tuesday morning to take shelter from the rain, Kline was elated at the status of some of the garden’s first crops.

“Look how beautiful this broccoli is!” Kline said, pointing to the roughly footlong stalks standing straight in terra cotta pots. “We’ve harvested a bit already.”

Kline pointed to spinach, bok choy, arugula and mizuna plants flourishing inside. The indoor garden was a far cry from how it looked this time last year.

“This place did not look like this, one hundred percent,” Kline said beside co-organizers Jamar Johnson and Bruce Philbrick.

School staff estimated the garden had been unused for at least eight years when Kline met with the principal in May of last year and got the go-ahead to take over the community garden.

She, Johnson, Philbrick and Jefferson Elementary teacher Brandy Paris had their work cut out for them. Kline described how, among other things, the garden shed was filled with trash and infested with mice.

“There was so much stuff that was just, like, left,” Kline said.

She likened the abandoned and overgrown garden to the ruins of Pompeii.

“When I say abandoned, it was really abandoned,” Kline said. 

The four of them devoted the bulk of the summer to weed-whacking, clearing debris and reviving tubs and garden tools by washing them with bleach “and just let everything sit in the sun for a week and bake.”

The renovations continued into the fall and winter, and the community garden had its first meeting in October.

Johnson touted how he planted fruit trees, including a dwarf apple tree, a pecan tree and grape vines along the fence.

“The kids will be able to come in and snack on grapes,” Johnson said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”

Philbrick pointed out the early stages of a compost bin made from straw bales that the Grange Co-op recently donated to the garden. He said he has a worm bin at home and plans to bring some red wigglers to break the material down.

Kline said her involvement in the community garden has been a lesson in fundraising. She has also obtained $2,000 from the Jackson County Master Gardeners Association as part of an annual grant for community gardens, another $2,000 from a Rogue Credit Union community sponsorship grant, plus in-kind donations from Rogue Disposal, Home Depot and the co-op.

Kline is especially grateful to the Southern Oregon Landscaping Association for their work repairing the garden’s irrigation system last month. Five professional landscapers came to the site to fix the irrigation system that was “broken and falling apart,” Kline said.

“They fixed everything and expanded the irrigation system to a full half of the garden that wasn’t getting water at all,” Kline said. 

The community garden is taking reservations for plots now. A smaller raised bed costs $10 and a larger raised bed cost $20 per year with payment due by the end of April, according to the garden’s mission statement.

Because gardeners may interact with Jefferson students, all gardeners must complete a volunteer application with the Medford School District and pass a background check. For more information, find the Holly Street Community Garden page on Facebook.