There’s no denying that the Bellevue community is a special one and BELL Garden has become a staple that makes it so great. Located next to Bellevue Middle School, BELL Garden, which stands for Bellevue Edible Learning Lab, is a community garden that cares for Bellevue residents and fosters connections between those that live in the community as well as volunteers from all over Nashville.
With Bellevue resident Deborah Stillwell at the helm as executive director, BELL Garden is run solely by volunteers. Founded in 2012, Stillwell got involved with BELL Garden seven years ago and has helped develop the volunteer program and expand the garden’s offerings. Among others, volunteers include students looking to earn community service hours, corporate groups on team-building exercises, retirees who enjoy gardening, and local residents looking to lend a hand.
They grow produce, flowers, and herbs, while also taking their harvest and turning it into delicious edible products for the public to purchase. They make anything and everything, from a variety of salsas and jams to dried spice mixes and pasta sauces. Customers can even cut their own flowers in the garden or purchase pre-arranged bouquets at the Bellevue Farmers Market. The nonprofit also holds classes to teach skills such as pickling and canning. In addition to selling the products, they place great importance on caring for the community and donate hundreds of pounds of fresh produce during their high season to a variety of food banks in the area, including the Bellevue Food Bank.
Items are available for purchase every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon year-round. This includes the winter months. BELL Garden also has a booth at the Bellevue Farmer’s Market when it’s open during the spring and summer.
In February of this year, the garden’s small office portable that serves as its operational hub was ransacked, causing much destruction and loss of crucial supplies for the organization. The thief stole everything from garden clippers to Gatorade that’s kept on hand for volunteers working in the hot sun and even threw seeds all over the space. But against that devastating backdrop, the Bellevue community showed how much it appreciates BELL Garden by stepping up to help repair the office and purchase new supplies to replace what had been stolen. In fact, contributions came in from around the country.
Community members rallied around to help Volunteering their labor as well. “The day after this happened, there were over 100 people in the garden helping us clean up,” Stillwell says of the support they received. “The community response was phenomenal with so many people hearing about us for the first time and time and financial donations. We were getting checks from all over the country.”
BELL Garden is thankful for the community that stepped up to support, just as many people of Bellevue are thankful to have BELL Garden as such a great community resource.
BELL Garden runs solely on donations, volunteers, and sales from the garden. They will be holding their annual online fundraising auction on their website from November 27 through December 7. With over 400 items available for purchase, it’s the perfect way to do holiday shopping and support the Bellevue community without ever leaving the couch. But you’ll probably want to visit in person
BELL Garden is open every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, selling fresh produce during growing season and canned goods, dried herbs, and more in the winter months. The organization’s annual online auction runs November 27–December 7 with hundreds of items available for purchase at 32Auctions.com/BELLGarden2025. BELL Garden is located at 655A Colice Jeanne Rd, next to Bellevue Middle School.