On a crystal clear morning last Saturday, with the early sun casting a dramatic spotlight on the gold and red leaves of the autumn trees, a band of volunteers descended upon Wesley AME Church and immediately got to work disrupting the hushed stillness of Swarthmore’s Bowdoin Avenue. It was all part of the Garden Community Work Party hosted jointly by Wesley AME Church members and the Swarthmore Horticultural Society, aimed at improving and beautifying the church grounds.
The triangular patch of land situated at the intersection of Baltimore Pike and Route 320 is Gateway Park. Recently, weeds and overgrown thistle have slowly strangled the flowers. Their thick tangle has obscured the “Welcome to Swarthmore” stone marker, dark at night due to a broken floodlight. Finding a volunteer garden manager willing to oversee the park has been a recurring thorn in the side of the Swarthmore Horticultural Society (SHS). But now, it appears, the right gardener for the job has come along.
Nearly two months into a lockdown ordered by Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf to help slow the spread of coronavirus, many of us are experiencing profound fatigue. Housebound parents of younger children pinball crazily between conference calls and childcare, while some elderly people and those living alone endure long bouts of boredom and loneliness. But for some, staying safe at home is not an option. Instead, they go each day into the thick of the fight to care for those gravely ill from the virus, often putting themselves and their own families at risk. They are also our friends and neighbors.
In the expansive world of gardening, Swarthmore resident Charles Cresson is something of a regional celebrity. His century-old, two-acre garden, Hedgleigh Spring, on Swarthmore’s Amherst Avenue, has been written up in the New York Times and Martha Stewart’s Living. Cresson is an esteemed horticulturist who has studied and taught at public gardens in England, as well as at the famed Longwood and Chanticleer gardens closer to home. He didn’t think he needed more feathers in his canvas hat. That was, until British gardener Monty Don came calling.
Home energy use accounts for an estimated 20 percent of a household’s overall footprint. These days, with the dire warnings about climate change a part of our daily consciousness, many people are working on ways to substantially reduce the size of their carbon footprint. In doing so, they can reap some cost savings as well. Phil Coleman, president of aFewSteps.org, an expert at energy efficiency, sets a high bar for his neighbors. I should know, I live across the street from him.
We’ve barely escaped the summer heat, but soon the dark, cold days of winter will be upon us, and every gardener will start counting down the days to spring blooms. On Saturday, October 19, the Swarthmore Horticultural Society will hold its annual Bulb Sale at the Swarthmore Farmers Market, featuring a variety of beautiful spring-blooming bulbs that share one special characteristic: they are all beloved by bees.
