Urban Alchemy Oakland Guest
Guest Story

Natalie Gagnon

Natalie’s passion is gardening. She started working with plants at the age of 7, shortly after she immigrated to the United States from Montreal, Canada. For many years, she had a beautiful garden on Alameda Street in Oakland, which was featured in news stories and even documentaries. However, in 2018, she sold her home and planned to move to Vermont with her then-boyfriend. Unfortunately, the relationship soured, so she remained in Oakland, living in her RV. At 63 years old, she didn’t want to start over, so she plans to live on the proceeds of her home sale. She eventually made her way to the Urban Alchemy-managed Vehicle Triage Site. In less than a year, she built two beautiful gardens, one in the Japanese style, complete with bonsai trees and a planned bridge. She only plans to continue to build and expand her gardens.

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