Al-Hadiqa: The Mymonie Elhage Jabara Heritage Garden
Gardening is an ancestral practice throughout the Arab world and remains a tether to family and culture for many Arab Americans. Al-Hadiqa: The Mymonie Elhage Jabara Heritage Garden nurtures plants that have traveled across generations and geographies, carrying stories of migration, resilience, and home. We honor and celebrate the stories of Arab American gardeners like our namesake, Mymonie Elhage Jabara. Mymonie came from Lebanon with her family in 1909 and lived on their farm in North Dakota until her marriage. She and her husband then moved to Michigan and raised a family of seven. Gardening was great joy to her throughout her life and she was admired for her beautiful dahlias and violets, and of course enough vegetables to feed the entire neighborhood.
Al-Hadiqa was born out of the community here in Metro Detroit. Many of the plants flourishing today were donated as seeds along with oral histories from local Arab American gardeners. These plants are grown beside Michigan natives as a reflection of a uniquely Dearborn and Detroit-based Arab diaspora. AANM hosts an annual seed swap in partnership with like-minded community organizations to share our unique plants and grow our collection. During the garden’s development, AANM opened its doors to community members in a town hall, where their insights informed the planning and vision of the space. With the immense support of our partners, Garden Juju Collective, Al-Hadiqa opened to the public in Summer 2023.
Join us in Al-Hadiqa every Friday from June 6th through October 2nd from 5-7 p.m., weather permitting. See updates via social media.
Supported by:
The Mymonie Elhage Jabara Heritage Garden Endowment Fund
Upcoming at Al-Hadiqa:
Al-Hadiqa Community Partner:
MetroSwaps is a non-profit community-based organization that hosts sustainability-focused events in Dearborn and Detroit. Centering the philosophy that we are part of nature and entrusted to care for our environment, MetroSwaps creates spaces to learn about and participate in a circular economy.
Al-Hadiqa is working with MetroSwaps as a featured community partner in 2026. Through our partnership, we seek to educate and engage the local community in sustainability practices and land stewardship. AANM is also committed to increasing direct community involvement in Al-Hadiqa by designating garden space to MetroSwaps for co-curation and by providing in-kind event space for MetroSwaps’s Sustainability Socials. Al-Hadiqa hopes to feature new partners with similar missions in the future.
