Filling one square block in the Southside of Providence, Rhode Island, the Somerset Community Garden currently contains seventy two garden plots. The families who garden there are of African-American, European, Cambodian, Dominican, Hmong, Laotian or Liberian origin.
On one level, these photographs document the practical function of the garden: to allow gardeners to produce food for their families and for sale to local markets. But the function of the garden is more complex: the garden fosters dialogue between cultures and enables its gardeners to retain their cultural traditions. The garden becomes a metaphor for the neighborhood and a window into the lives and cultures of the people that it serves.