Spring is in full swing and it’s time to stock up on your gardening supplies. The West Philly location of Greensgrow Farms is reopening this weekend just in time. Although smaller than the flagship location in Kensington, Greensgrow West features a fully stocked garden center.

Starting this Friday, you can stop by at 4912 Baltimore Avenue and pick up seeds and seed starting supplies, as well as soils, soil amendments, mulch and more. Also, spring bulbs, pansies, and Easter plants will be available for sale this weekend, plus there will be a special sale on emerging fall blooming perennials!

Greensgrow West is also a farmstand and CSA pick-up location for the Greensgrow Summer CSA program, registration for which is currently underway. Full-share, half-share and add-on share options are available. The CSA season begins the week of May 19 and ends the week of November 3.  Continue Reading

One person was injured as the result of an underground electrical explosion at 34th and Walnut this morning at around 10:15 a.m. The explosion of underground PECO electric lines propelled two manhole covers into the air, right in front of The Gap and Penn’s Franklin Building, and injured a man, according to an announcement by Penn Public Safety Division. The injured person is currently receiving medical treatment.

The affected PECO lines have been under repair over the past few weeks due to power outages in the area.

The sidewalk was closed and Walnut Street was reduced to one lane following the incident. Police were on the scene to assist with traffic.

The incident prompted Penn Public Safety to issue the following statement: “Rest assured that this incident is not related to the current international unrest.”

The all clear was announced and normal activity with some police presence resumed in the area at about 10:50 a.m.

If you know someone who is interested in working in landscaping, pass this along. The University City District has received a $300,000 grant to launch Green City Works, “a social enterprise that provides high-quality groundskeeping services while developing job skills and advancement opportunities for low-income workers interested in landscaping trades,” according to a statement.

Green City Works will build on UCD’s efforts with the West Philadelphia Skills Initiative, which connects West Philadelphians with employers offering “family-sustaining” wages.

Go to the Green City Works website to learn more.

Here’s some information on Easter egg hunts happening in the area this weekend. If you know of more egg hunts, please post information about them in the comments below.

Saturday, March 26

Easter Egg Hunt at Clark Park (43rd and Chester)

Easter Egg Hunt at Clark Park will take place from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Kids up to age 8 are invited. Along with the hunt, there will be some crafts and raffle prizes at the end. This year’s raffle prizes include: gift cards to Renata’s Kitchen, The Nesting House, Clarkville, VIX Emporium, and West Philly Foods. Be sure to get to the park (by the toddler playground) to register for the egg hunt. Registration will begin at 10:45 a.m. and will close promptly at 11:15 a.m. This annual event is organized by Renewal Presbyterian Church.

Spring Egg Hunt at Walnut Street West Library (40th and Walnut)

There will be two egg hunts: 10:30-11:30 a.m. for ages up to 6 and 12-1:30 p.m. for ages 7-12. Join the Friends of Walnut St West Library for snacks, stories, games and books to take home!  Continue Reading

The annual TreePhilly yard tree giveaway is currently underway. Property owners who want to receive a free tree for their yard or lawn this spring are encouraged to register. To do that, go to the registration page on the TreePhilly website (see below), select up to two trees (various species are available, including fruit trees!) and pre-register for one of the tree pick-up events scheduled to take place in April and May at various locations throughout the city.

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge will host a yard tree giveaway on May 21 in Southwest Philadelphia – at James Finnegan Playground (6801 Grovers Ave.). To pre-register for this event, click here.

Registration ends on April 1, 2016. For more information about available tree species and other giveaways, visit: http://treephilly.org/spring16freetrees.

Photos West Philly Local

Editor’s Note: After this story was printed, Spruce Hill Community Association’s zoning chair Barry Grossbach said that they “begged the owners of 243 [S. 45th St.] not to take the building down. My impression is that they are building a multi-unit structure.”

Developers continue to buy properties and land around Penn and Drexel and turn them into apartments buildings mostly aimed at students. The photo above is from a new project at 41st and Ludlow. Ludlow Brothers LLC purchased a single family home at that location in 2014 and demolished it to make room for a four-story apartment building.

Another Spruce Hill development project, luxury apartments on S. 45th Street between Spruce and Locust, has been completed. As was reported earlier, an old West Philly row home at 245 S. 45th St. was demolished to make room for the new four-story 15-unit building. However, we recently noticed that another old row home, right next door to the new apartment building was also being torn down:

It’s not clear yet what is coming in its place. The 5-bedroom home at 243 S. 45th St. was sold last summer for $399,000 to developer South Fortyfive 243 LLC, according to property records.