At the Pulaski Zeralda Community Garden in Germantown, the air is thick with the scent of green onions and okra. These vegetables grow from some of the 38 plots, including one dedicated to a local women’s center. This season alone, the garden yielded blackberries, strawberries, tomatoes, okra, peppers, corn and collards. The garden participates in
More
By Bernard BrownLocal environmental educator builds wildlife oasis in Fishtown.
MoreBy Bernard BrownGardeners who have taken a peek inside the hand-sized yellow flowers on their squash plants have probably witnessed what looks like a bee dance party. On smaller flowers, bees perch themselves and deploy their long tongues to suck up the tiny droplets of nectar inside. By contrast, on winter squash plants (like pumpkins, butternuts
More
by Bernard BrownImagine you’re a pipevine swallowtail butterfly flying around the rowhouses of southwest Philadelphia. You look like a swatch of velvet. On top, your wings are black toward the front and an iridescent electric blue towards the back; underneath, they flash an array of bright orange spots as a warning to predators. You hatched at
MorePhoto by Emily Wren Photography Upping the beauty quotient for your big day by Emily Kovach Besides food, there is one other wedding detail that is practically universal, making an appearance at even the most low-key backyard weddings or far-flung-destination nuptials: flowers. Whether in the form of bouquets, garlands, boutonnières, scattered petals or table arrangements,
MorePhoto by Jared Gruenwald by Brittany Barbato Today, the Philadelphia region has more than 30 public gardens within 30 miles of Philadelphia, cultivating roots that ground much of America’s horticultural history. These four lesser-known gardens contain a treasure trove of beautiful, interesting and historically relevant plants waiting for you to discover and explore. The Gardens
MoreGarden Supply Hot Spots by Laura Everard Whenever you talk to gardeners, regardless of who they are, where they live and what kind of garden they have, they always have the garden center that they swear by, and they tend to get very “Sharks and Jets” about the whole situation. I don’t claim to have
MoreMade in the Shade by Laura Everard “I can’t grow anything because my garden is too shady.” If I had a dollar for the number of times people told me this, I would have enough money to buy all of the plants they would need to revamp their shade garden! Just because you aren’t living
MoreTiny Farm to Tiny Table by Grid Staff School cafeterias of old are notorious for mushy veggies and fried mystery meats, but students at Friends’ Central School in Wynnewood hope to promote healthful lunch hours with a new year-round food-growing program. Students from nursery school through fifth grade are taught the significance of healthy eating
MorePhotos and illustrations by Marika Mirren How Does Your Garden Grow? by Brion Shreffler Turning the corner of South 10th and Christian streets in Philadelphia, heading north into the Bella Vista neighborhood, a newcomer out on a jog might be caught off guard by the fiercely squawking green parrot taking umbrage at their swift passage.
MoreMary Seton Corboy and Greensgrow continue to set an example
story by Lee Stabert/photos by Jessica Kourkounis
Greensgrow, an urban farm and nursery in kensington, is a superstar of Philadelphia’s sustainability community. Having earned an abundance of recent national and local press, the pioneering farm’s name is always at the ready when conversation turns to the rising