December 23, 2023

By Mark Martin
Garden Manager

The Gardens at Unity Village sits behind a three story 100 year old rock barn at 150 B Colbern Rd. Behind the bar on their three acre plot, we grow everything from asparagus to zucchini. This produce is sold at our May to October Saturday morning market.

Although our success depends on the amount of produce sold, we are most proud of what they give to charity. These charities can easily obtain canned goods, cereals and baked goods from other generous sources but they fall short of fresh garden produce. It is through these weekly charitable produce donations that the organizations judge their greatest success. Last year the Gardens donated 3,000 lbs. of fresh produce primarily to Lee’s Summit Social Services. This year (2023) 5,300 lbs. were donated.

The volunteer garden and market workers get much pleasure and satisfaction by giving of their time and labor to charity. Others in the community who want to help these charitable organizations can find a home at the gardens. We also provide a great source of education, exercise and fellowship for the volunteers. Unity Village provides the barn, land and water to make the operation possible.

The current Colbern Rd. construction has limited but not eliminated access to our garden produce stand. Single lane access from the East at Colbern/Lee’s Summit Rd. will be available until similar single lane access opens from the West at the Colbern/Blue Parkway intersection.

We encourage all area residents to support the Lee’s Summit downtown farmers market and our market at Gardens at Unity Village. We have plenty of parking, garden tours and a 100 yr. old barn, with a basketball court on the third floor, a compost site, brown eggs and green tomatoes on request.

Come out and watch the new Discovery Park develop and support Local Lee’s Summit.