The Jewish Farm School, a Philly-based environmental education nonprofit, recently received a grant to run a series of early childhood garden-based education program in West Philadelphia. The Side Yard Seedlings program is launching May 31 and will offer a dozen sessions on weekdays and Sundays this summer and fall. Children ages 2 to 6 and their caregivers will be gathering at the Jewish Farm School garden at 50th and Cedar for 90-minute sessions to care for plants and for age-appropriate games and activities connected to the cycles of the seasons and the themes of the Hebrew calendar.  Continue Reading

Heritage roses, historic boxwoods, vegetable and herb starts, native perennials, shrubs, trees and more will be available for sale at this year’s plant sale at Bartram’s Garden. The popular annual event will be held on Saturday, April 21, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.. It is also a great opportunity to visit the 1731 Bartram House which will be open all day.

Throughout the day, horticulturalists will be on hand to answer questions and share garden-planning advice.

Bartram’s Garden members are invited to check out this year’s fabulous selection of plants during a Member Preview Party on Friday, April 20, plus enjoy discounts on plant and Welcome Center purchases.  Continue Reading

The Woodlands’ Grave Gardeners program, which launched in 2016 and quickly became popular, is seeking a new group of volunteers to tend to cradle graves at the cemetery beginning this spring. These cradle graves were designed to be planters in the Victorian era, and volunteers will be tending to their assigned graves throughout the entire growing season (March – November).

Volunteers will receive guidance from the Woodlands through workshops, demonstrations and other events, as well as a wide variety of plant material. They’re also welcome to plant their own additional plants. Workshops will held in February and March to give gardeners a knowledge base for their work and more historical context for the program.  Continue Reading

The Wiota Street Community Garden (from Google Street View).

The Redevelopment Authority voted to save the Wiota Street Community Garden yesterday, rejecting a sale of the land to a developer who planned to build residences on the property on the 4000 block of Powelton Avenue.

The land has been owned for decades by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority, which heard a proposal yesterday to sell the land to AJR Endeavors LLC. Several residents attended the monthly authority meeting on Wednesday to speak in favor of the garden. Despite Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s support of the sale, the Authority unanimously voted against it, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Community members have been lobbying for years to keep the property a garden. A community meeting in December 2014 drew a pledge from Blackwell, who was present at the meeting, to help preserve the garden when developers expressed interest in the property.  Continue Reading

The Woodlands Grave Gardener program is returning this spring for the second year and volunteers are needed. Here’s how it works:

Each volunteer (75 are needed) will be assigned to adopt a “cradle” grave at The Woodlands during the 2017 growing season. These graves were originally designed to be planters, so the volunteers are expected to plant and tend to their assigned “cradle” grave throughout the growing season (March-October). All gardens will be designed with the Victorian Garden aesthetic in mind. An approved planting list has been created by The Woodlands to help guide the gardeners.

A series of gardening workshops will also be offered to the program participants. The first workshop, on Gardening for Beginners with Sally McCabe of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS), will be held on February 1.

Those interested to participate in the program are asked to submit an application. The deadline is January 20.

For more information and to apply, click here.

(Photos courtesy of The Woodlands).

Photo from the Wiota St. Garden’s Facebook page.

Community members are invited to attend a rally in West Powelton on Sunday, Sept. 18 in another attempt to save the Wiota Street Community Garden from development. The garden was established in 1984 on a vacant lot at the corner of Wiota St. and Powelton Ave. and has been providing area residents with fresh produce for eight months of the year since then. Plans were revealed in 2014 to build housing on the site of the garden, but tenuous community consensus to preserve the garden was reached at a December 2014 public meeting with Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. However, the garden has again come under threat as reported recently by Hidden City.

The rally will be held at the garden (4022 Powelton Ave.), beginning at 4 p.m., and the organizers are asking the participants to bring a picnic.  Continue Reading