Donated Plants, Landscaping Turn Micah House Yard into Model Urban Garden

[story from June 2009 Vine]

On a beautiful spring weekend, Derek T. and a crew from his company, T. Landscapes, transformed the front and side yards of Micah House into a magical display of hardy shrubs and colorful flowers.

Beginning at 8 a.m., Derek and his three-man crew began digging new beds and arranging sprightly plants--azaleas, hollies, photinias, boxwoods and aucubas, along with daylilies, pansies and begonias--donated by Ed's Plant World in Maryland. Thomas contributed his time, skill and manpower to plan and install a model urban garden.

The new plantings cheered the border along the yard's cyclone fence and against the house. A sunny front bed was prepared for residents to plant vegetables.

Joining in the effort was master-gardener-in-training Sylvia B.. She was recruited by Derek, who posted a notice requesting master gardeners to complete their required volunteer hours of community garden service at Micah House. Bradley will hold workshops for residents on maintaining and caring for the garden.

As the work neared completion, Derek viewed the transformed landscape from Micah House's front porch and reflected, "Getting back and doing this as a volunteer helps me remember how much I love to do it...I hope it will inspire others in the neighborhood to do the same."

A Micah House resident, arriving soon after, mirrored the smiles of others who had walked by during the planting process, and exclaimed, "It's beautiful".

[By Genie Grohman; from June 2009 Vine]