Just minutes from an interchange of the InterCounty Connector lies an oasis for local residents in need of outside space: an impressive expanse of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers, where the sounds of construction and cars are all but silenced by songbirds and chattering squirrels.

The Briggs Chaney Community Garden, located on Briggs Chaney Road, opened its gates in December of 2009 and provides residents with space to grow.

In an area in which land is in short supply, the garden is comprised of 118 plots of public land, most of which measure 625 square feet and can be rented at a cost of $75 per year. The plots can produce an abundance of food, from the tomatoes and melons that growers plant in the summer months to the more cold-tolerant snap peas and salad greens that are shooting up now.

Both the work of gardening—raking, tilling, weeding—and its reward—fresh vegetables—provide gardeners with a range of benefits, said Ursula Sabia Sukinik, community garden program coordinator for the Montgomery County Department of Parks.

The health benefits of growing and eating organic produce have long been recognized as an advantage of gardening. But just as important as eating well and exercising is the sense of community that can spring from working in a shared space.

The Briggs Chaney site is the county's largest community garden, and it has become a space in which all are represented—novice gardeners and Master Gardeners; single women and large families; all ethnicities.

Louis Kamara, a Laurel resident who works as a contractor for the Department of Homeland Security, rents four plots at the garden and this summer grew tomatoes, eggplant, peas and okra.

Kamara owns a rubber farm in his home country of Liberia, and spent a long time searching for space to garden before settling on Briggs Chaney.

Kamara likes the self-reliance of this endeavor, and he grows and freezes produce that can't be found in stores.

Some, Kamara said, drive long distances to find jute leaves. In growing this product himself, he can avoid the costs of "gasoline, the toll on the road, the wear and tear on your vehicle and the rest of it," he said.

And when a friend asked Kamara for some of his hard-to-find Turkish orange eggplant? "I said, No, I won't give you none," he laughed. "If you come to Briggs Chaney Road, you can get a plot and you can go and plant your own stuff!"

After all, gardening is hard work. Brought together by a common interest, those who garden in Briggs Chaney form relationships while commiserating over the prolific stink bug or discussing just how to eat a bitter gourd.

Silver Spring resident Marlene Finch is new to the Briggs Chaney Community Garden. Although her harvests were small thanks to a late start and a lot of stink bugs, her first summer was "a magnificent experience," she said. 

Finch returned to the area from Georgia this year. Years ago, she lived in Rockville, where she rented a plot in another community garden. But Finch didn't find the generosity among the gardeners there that she now sees in Briggs Chaney.

A woman of color, Finch noticed that, 25 years ago, "folks were stand-offish and not inclined to share tips and get together and talk. Now, we are," Finch said, as evidenced by the help--and extra produce--that her fellow Briggs Chaney gardeners have shared with her. 

There is a palpable "sense of community, of knowing people around you" at the site, said Sabia Sukinik. This seems to be an experience as valuable as gardening itself.

Demand for community gardens has run high across the state. In addition to the Briggs Chaney site, which is currently accepting applications for open plots, the Montgomery County Department of Parks operates gardens in Takoma Park, Bethesda and Boyds, and is looking to expand.

Beginning this month, the parks department, in conjunction with Montgomery County Public Schools, will hold a series of public meetings to discuss their plans for three new garden sites. The meetings are as follows:

• Thursday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.: Spring Mill Center (in the All Purpose Room), 11721 Kemp Mill Rd. Silver Spring, MD
• Monday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m.: Rocking Horse Center (in the All Purpose Room), 4910 Macon Rd. Rockville, MD
• Thursday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.: Emory Center (in the All Purpose Room), 18100 Washington Grove, Gaithersburg, MD

Click here for more information.