Conservation: Rick's Garden

Rick's Garden Doesn't Belong to Anyone 

For 35 years, Rick Bridgforth has tended a garden tucked into an alley between Hanover and Grove avenues in Richmond's Fan. With flagstone paths and a green arch entrance, thousands of flowers change each season to be, in his word, "glimmerous". He started it to stop littering and tt became a neighborhood landmark. Now a proposed carriage house could erase most of it.

Rick doesn't own the land, a developer purchased it in 2023. But as a park professional, the conservation path here is clear.

"There's already a place, a public space that people love and care about." 

- Fan District Association

Under Virginia law, adverse possession is one option: 35 years of open, continuous public use is a strong factual record. A Richmond city ordinance (§17.36) offers another: any parcel used "as a public place" for five years becomes a public space. The garden qualifies many times over. The most impactful long-term solution is a negotiated conservation easement held by a land trust like the Capital Region Land Conservancy. It restricts the land's use permanently while leaving ownership intact, preserving the developer's rights while protecting the community's 35-year investment. No future sale can override it.

Finally, I'd push for formal Parks Department designation. Richmond's parks director has already signaled support. A city inventory listing provides maintenance resources, legal standing, and political durability.

Source: https://www.richmonder.org/in-the-fan-plans-for-a-carriage-house-collide-with-a-longtime-alley-garden/