Hicks Street Garden

Spring 2011 Mosaic Workshops!

2011-03-03T13:54:00.002-04:00

Let's finish that mural!

Hicks Street Garden will be holding more tile mosaic workshops this spring with expert tile mosaic artists. You will learn the skills needed to construct a tile mosaic as you help construct our community garden's first mosaic mural! No experience needed. Tools will be provided.

One-day "How to Tile Mosaic" workshop will be offered on:

Saturday, March 26, 9am-noon
Saturday, April 9, 9am-noon
Saturday, May 14, 9am-noon

COST: $ 5 registration fee. Kids (5-18) free with registered adult.

SPACE is LIMITED! Sign up NOW for a workshop by contacting Mary at maryjwb@gmail.com or 267-266-2811.

LEARN to TILE MOSAIC!

2010-09-09T11:11:00.004-04:00

Learn to tile mosaic! Leave your mark on our neighborhood!

Hicks Street Garden will be holding a series of tile mosaic workshops this fall with expert tile mosaic artists. You will learn the skills needed to construct a tile mosaic as you help construct our community garden's first mosaic mural! No experience needed. Tools will be provided.

DATES:
Saturdays, 9am-noon
Oct. 9, Oct 23, Nov 13

COST: $5 registration fee per session. Kids (ages 5+) are FREE with a registered adult.

SPACE is LIMITED. Sign up now!

TO REGISTER or for MORE INFO: maryjwb@gmail.com or 267-266-2811

Updated! Click here for registration form.

SMASH PARTY two on Sat. July 24!

2010-07-11T11:20:00.000-04:00

Smash Party--part two! This time, at the garden.

Be a part of our planned mosaic mural by dropping off your unwanted DINNERWARE, CUPS, CERAMICS, MIRRORS, TCHOTCHKES and TILE.

We especially need BRIGHTLY COLORED items.

Every donation is appreciated as it helps offset the cost of installing the mosaic.

Stick around and smash them yourself, or we'd be happy to do the work for you! Light refreshments will be provided.

SMASH PARTY!

2010-05-05T15:49:00.002-04:00

"SMASH PARTY"

Sat. May 15
10-NOON
2500 McKean St.

Bring your old plates, mirrors, tiles to smash up for our garden's new mosaic (to be constructed this fall). An easy way to give back to the garden and to release those pent-up frustrations! We are especially in need of brightly colored items, but will take anything you have to offer.

Refreshments will be provided. Questions? Contact Mary at 215-468-2396 or marywb@temple.edu

We did it!

2010-04-11T14:53:00.002-04:00

Thanks to all of our volunteers who came out on Saturday! We made quick work of the litter and the "weed trees." The lot looks MUCH better and I'm sure the owners will be pleased with our efforts.

If I can get a photo before too long, I will post here. Otherwise, stop by and take a look if you're nearby.

Our next garden event will be on Sunday, May 2, 11am-1pm, at the GARDEN. Details coming shortly.

Next gardening day--->15th & Passyunk

2010-03-30T22:38:00.004-04:00

With the Hicks garden growing so well, we have decided to move our April 10th workday to the vacant lot at 15th and Passyunk. The plan is to clean up the lot as much as possible and plant a few strategically-placed seeds.

Note for the law-abiding: If we are unable to reach the owners, this will be a true guerrilla gardening expedition since we will technically be trespassing. (But, hey, that how we started the Hicks garden, right?)

Rest assured, however, that none of us have gotten arrested yet for picking up litter. In fact, we've been in this lot before. Ted, my grizzled senior-citizen neighbor, hopped the fence along with the rest of us and helped install the beautiful border of sunflowers that you might have noticed last year.

If Ted can do it, so can you! See you on the 10th @ 11am!

Spring is here, a new garden season begins!

2010-03-12T11:14:00.003-04:00

Welcome back, Spring!

There are some exciting things in store for the garden this year, including a new mural that we will be starting to construct in the fall.

Check out our upcoming open gardening days. We are always looking for new gardeners and friends. All ages welcome and no gardening experience is required!

SPRING GARDENING DAYS:

Sat. MARCH 27. 1:00pm

Sat. APRIL 10. 11:00am

Sun. MAY 2. 11:00am

City Gardens contest winner!

2009-10-05T20:54:00.002-04:00

We are pleased to announce that the Hicks Street Garden has won second place in the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's City Gardens Contest!

We had an impressive array of vegetation this year, including a gigantic elephant's ear plant that has lately produced two flowers. Check it out before the fall frost!

Congratulations, everyone!

Hicks Street Garden on ABC World News!

2009-04-30T21:42:00.002-04:00

We're famous... for two whole seconds! Take a look at this clip from ABC World News, which aired 4/30/09.

Those familiar with our enterprises know that we did most of our illicit (but now completely legitimated) work in broad daylight. Only one person complained. Yes, that's right. Someone was upset that we cleaned up the lot and started a garden. It might have been some fun to work at night. Perhaps our next project will be a twilight one.

Garden receives $5,000 grant!

2008-12-31T22:24:00.004-04:00

It's official: The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development has approved a $5,000 grant to the Neighborhood Gardens Association on our behalf! Former Senator Vincent Fumo's office was instrumental in helping us to obtain this grant and we are thankful for their support of community gardens such as ours.

This brings us closer to achieving our funding goals. We now need to raise about $11,000 more to completely pay off our real estate costs. If you have not already done so, please consider making a gift to NGA on our behalf. Every gift counts, big or small! You can donate through www.ngalandtrust.org or mail in your donation to the NGA office.

Looking forward to more gardening this spring! In the meantime, stay warm and enjoy the present season.

Fundraising news and Volunteer day

2008-05-13T10:32:00.001-04:00

The weather was chilly on Saturday, but we still managed to raise about $250 for the Hicks Garden! Thank you to everyone who helped in some way, whether by helping out with the sale or supporting us with your purchases.

We still have some vegetable and herb plants left. We are going to try to sell these in the next week or so. If you or your friends/family/coworkers would like to purchase something, please let me know ASAP. A list of available plants is at the end of this post.

Other good news: Beneficial Savings Bank has agreed to make a charitable grant of $1000 towards our real estate debt! Our remaining fundraising total now stands at $16,230.

Lastly, this Saturday, May 17, from 12:00-3:00pm, will be our FINAL spring volunteer day. Come on out and help plant some seeds!

PLANT -- # PACKS AVAILABLE:
Jalapeno Pepper -- 3
Habanero Pepper -- 5
Dill -- 5
Tomato (early girl) -- 1
Tomato (cherry) -- 3
Parsley -- 3
Basil (italian) -- 4

Each pack contains 4-6 plants and costs $4.00. Please let me know if you or someone you know would like to buy some.

--Mary (marywb@temple.edu)

PLANT AND BAKE SALE: Sat. May 10

2008-04-29T19:46:00.000-04:00

Come on out to the ...

Hicks Street Garden's
2nd Annual Plant and Bake Sale

Saturday, May 10
9am-4pm
Broad St & Snyder Ave (in front of Walgreen's)

Homemade baked goods, annual flowers, herb and vegetable plants for sale.

All proceeds benefit the Hicks Street Garden.

Volunteer Day 3-29-08

2008-03-30T19:13:00.002-04:00

Our dedicated volunteers worked through the chilly weather on Saturday and produced absolutely beautiful results. You can view pictures of the garden and read a little about our day's work here.

Among the highlights:
*New trees and bushes
*A beautiful arbor with space for sitting
*Clean and weeded planting areas
*Rhubarb roots planted
*Joanne's homemade coconut eggs eaten!

Join us for our next volunteer day on Sunday, April 27, 12-3pm.

Can you help with our annual plant and bake sale? We need people to help on the day of the sale and to give donations of baked goods. Contact Mary at marywb@temple.edu interested.

We are also actively fundraising to cover the costs of our emergency land purchase last summer. Please consider making a gift to our garden. (See link on upper righthand side of blog.)

In the meantime, come to the garden and take a look... we are anticipating a colorful garden this season. It already looks great, and we're only getting started. Thanks to everyone for making the Hicks Street Garden so successful!

Mary

How you can help

2008-01-28T20:24:00.000-04:00

Time to get ready for Spring!

NEWS

Good news for our South Philadelphia neighborhood: The Hicks Street Garden is now officially part of the Neighborhood Gardens Association, a Philadelphia-based land trust. The land is now preserved for the purpose of community gardening! This is a win for the garden as well as for the whole community.

Now, the Hicks Street gardeners can work freely on the Garden. We still have a lot of work to do, though.

**HOW YOU CAN HELP**

1. Volunteer your time in the garden. A great way to get some fresh air and meet new friends! Upcoming workdays will be announced.

2. Make a donation on our behalf. We still need to pay off the cost of the land where the garden is located. Follow the links on the right to donate to the Neighborhood Gardens Association. NGA is a non-profit organization, and your contributions are tax-deductible. (Important: Please designate your donation for "Hicks Street Garden.")

3. Spread the word. The more people know about us, the more support the garden will receive.

If you have any questions about our garden or our fundraising efforts, please feel free to contact Mary at marywb@temple.edu or 215-468-2396.

Thanks to everyone who is making this garden a success!

Sincerely,
Mary Ward-Bucher

January 2008 news: garden preservation, fundraising

2007-12-21T17:23:00.000-04:00

Good news for our South Philadelphia neighborhood: The Hicks Street Garden is now officially owned by the Neighborhood Gardens Association. The land is now preserved for the purpose of community gardening! This is a win for the garden as well as for the whole community.

Now, the Hicks Street gardeners can work freely on the Garden... and on fundraising.

In order to purchase 1835 S. Hicks St. from its previous owner, it was necessary to borrow a significant amount of money from a generous donor. The sooner we repay this loan, the sooner we can give our undivided attention to improving the Garden.

If you would like to help, click here to donate through the Neighborhood Gardens Association. NGA is a non-profit agency, and your contributions are tax-deductible. (Important: Please be designate your donation for "Hicks Street Garden.")

If you have any questions about our garden or our fundraising efforts, please feel free to contact Mary at marywb@temple.edu.

Thank you for your support!

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-27T21:58:00.000-04:00

A few of us are dressing up for Halloween and will be handing out candy
to the kids on Wednesday.  

Dress up in your duds and join us between 5:30-8:00pm, or simply stop
by to say hello.

Please tell the kids you know that we're there for "trick-or-treat."

Fall photos

2007-10-08T19:43:00.000-04:00

Daisies and Nemesia.

A tropical path.

Clematis has bloomed.

Vines everywhere.

Elephant's ears!

(Photos by Tiffany F.)

We won! Another workday! and... Halloween!

2007-10-01T07:12:00.001-04:00

Fall Garden news & events:

PHS City Gardens Contest
We won 2nd place!!! We received $25 and an invitation to attend the Awards Reception on Sunday, October 21st at 2pm. ALL Hicks Street gardeners are invited. If you would like to attend, please RSVP by October 14th to marywb@temple.edu. (Space is limited.)

Fall Work Session
Sunday, Oct. 14th, 1-3pm.
RAIN or SHINE
Time to get the garden ready for winter. Volunteers needed to remove some of the plants for winter, and to decorate for Halloween. Please come and help out--the garden needs you!

Halloween in the Garden
Wednesday evening, Oct. 31st, time TBA.
Dress up, hang out, and hand out candy to the kids. More details coming.

IMPORTANT MEETING: Weds. Sept 12 @ 7pm

2007-09-05T12:35:00.000-04:00

Hicks Garden Planning Meeting
Wednesday, Sept. 12
7:00-8:30pm
1917 S. Mole Street

SPECIAL GUEST: Terry Mushovic, Executive Director, Neighborhood Gardens Association

PLEASE MAKE TIME TO ATTEND and SHOW YOUR SUPPORT for the garden. This is a very important meeting, since it may determine the garden's future land security.

Terry Mushovic will be present to answer our questions about placing the garden in the NGA land trust.

Hope to see everyone next week!

Mary Ward-Bucher

Next Workday and Meeting

2007-08-08T14:47:00.000-04:00

Dear friends of the Hicks Street Garden,

There will be a garden workday on August 13 and a
meeting on September 12. See below for details.


CITY GARDENS CONTEST/WORKDAY: MON., AUG. 13 6:30-7:30pm

Our garden has been selected as a "finalist" in the PHS City
Gardens contest!  We will clean up and replant parts of the
garden the evening before the
judges come.  Come out and show your support!

NEXT MEETING: WEDS. SEPT. 12 7:00PM

Our donor-lender is purchasing our garden lot this week.  At
the meeting we will discuss the next steps (fundraising, land
trusts etc.) as well as future plans for the garden.  If you
are skilled or willing in these areas, please plan to come.
We need to raise about $20,000 and would greatly appreciate
any help you can give.


In the meantime, please feel free to e-mail me (see contact info) with
questions or ideas.  Hope your summer has been a pleasant one
so far!

Mary Ward-Bucher

August news

2007-07-29T20:01:00.000-04:00

Hello Hicks Garden Friends,

You'll find a quick update below.

The sunflowers are huge!!! If you haven't been by the garden recently, please stop in for a rest and a look about. The judges from the City Gardens contest thought it was "just lovely." (No word yet on the contest outcome.) THANKS to EVERYONE who is helping to water and maintain our garden this summer. This has truly been a neighborhood effort! --Mary

BUYING THE LOT:

So far, the process of buying the lot seems to be progressing fairly smoothly. Settlement will be taking place in the next week or two.

Following settlement, we will hold an open meeting to discuss where we go from here. There is much to consider, including what type of organization we want to be and how we will begin fundraising to repay the donor who is purchasing the lot for us.

The meeting will take place sometime in mid-late August at the garden. Time will be announced.

GARDENING WORKSHOP:

PHS' City Gardening Series is holding a FREE workshop called "Growing Herbs in the Home Garden." It will take place on Mon. 7/30. 6:00pm at the library @ Broad & Morris.

MOVIE NIGHT:
There will be another movie night at DiSilvestro Playground (15th & Morris) on Sat. Aug 30. @ 8:30pm. The feature film is "City Harvest," sponsored by Scribe. The film is about community gardens in Philadelphia, and the Hicks Garden will have an info table there. Come out, enjoy this documentary and show your support!

Garden party photos 6.30.2007

2007-07-05T11:59:00.000-04:00

A pumpkin starting to grow...

Rose and Byrd.

Kitties have moved in underneath our rainbarrel!

Our flamingo with new prosthetic legs.

"Judgment Day" and other news

2007-07-02T20:37:00.000-04:00

The garden looks great, and we had a wonderful potluck on
Saturday!  (Hope to get some more photos up soon...)

A few garden announcements:

1) CONTEST.  Philadelphia Horticultural Society's "City Gardens"
contest judges are coming to look at the garden on Weds. July
11 @ 9:30am.  If you're free at that time, you are welcome to
come and bribe... er... talk to them about your experiences
with the garden.

To get ready for their visit, I'm hoping we can tidy things up
NEXT Tuesday evening, from about 6:30-7:30.  If you can help,
please let me know.

2) BUYING THE LOT. In case you have not yet heard, the garden
lot is for sale and we're making an offer this week.  Mary's
brother has generously offered to buy the lot if our bid is
successful.  Our longterm goal would then be to raise enough
money to repay him and put the garden in a trust.

3) PLEASE PICK the GREENS!  The endive on the right side of
the vegetable frame (rear of garden) is ready.  Please help
yourself.  It can be cooked or used in salads.

That's all for now.  Will keep you updated about the sale and
the contest.

Mary

Garden Potluck--Sat. June 30th!

2007-06-23T11:38:00.000-04:00

Come and celebrate our beautiful Hicks Street Garden.

All are invited!  Bring a friend!

GARDEN POTLUCK
Saturday 6/30/07

Garden Meeting--10:00am
Weeding & Planting--11:00am
Lunch--12:00pm

Please bring a dish to share with everyone. 
Beverages will be provided.

Workday photos 6.3.07

2007-06-04T19:30:00.000-04:00

Look at us working hard! The kids did a great job and the heavy rain held off until we were all done. After a long struggle with dirt and compost, we finished the last planting beds. We're looking forward to our party on June 30th.

Good news: The garden is attracting birds.

A few of our many sunflowers.

In May, the neighborhood kids planted a vegetable bed and an herb box.

Lots of impatiens!

"Nicotine" flowers. (This was very exciting for our smokers.)

Hoping to put in benches sometime this summer.

June Garden News

2007-05-28T12:38:00.000-04:00

NEXT WORKDAY
Sun. 6/3, 1pm-4pm *RAIN OR SHINE!*

After a VERY busy May, we are ready to construct the final planting beds in the garden. We may be working in the rain, so be sure to dress for the weather. Light snacks will be provided.

GARDEN POTLUCK
Sat. 6/30, 10am

Bring some food to share with your neighbors. We will do some light work in the garden and then take some time to celebrate our accomplishments!

Thank You

Even though we've only been working on the garden for a short time, we've already received substantial help from some great organizations. We'd like to especially thank Weaver's Way, Home Depot, and Philadelphia Green. Their generosity has made it possible for us to purchase materials, tools and flowers for our garden.

Above all, we'd like to thank every person who has given in some way to our neighborhood efforts. Together, we have been able to make something beautiful for everyone to enjoy. This garden would not have grown without you!

May garden news

2007-05-12T18:10:00.000-04:00

Hi Garden Friends,

Our 1st annual Mother's Day sale was a great success! We raised over $200 for the Hicks Garden and other neighborhood greening efforts. Special thanks to everyone who helped out. We met a lot of neighbors and were able to tell many people about community happenings West of Broad.

MORE GOOD NEWS: The Hicks Garden has also received a grant from the Weavers Way Co-op in Mt Airy. With these funds, we will make more flower beds in the front of the garden, most likely in June.

AND FINALLY... Our next workday is Saturday, May 19 @ 10am (raindate: Sunday). We'll be finishing up our vegetable bed and doing a few other projects. Free snacks and water to participants!

Above all, thank you for your ongoing support. Without you, this would not have been possible. Look at all we've accomplished so far!

Hope to See You on Saturday!

BAKE SALE! Sat. 5/12, 10am-2pm

2007-05-11T05:49:00.000-04:00

Our 1st annual Mother's Day Plant and Bake Sale is this Saturday, May 12 from 10am-2pm.

We'll be in front of the library at Broad and Morris Sts. Come out and support us! All proceeds will benefit our garden and the DiSilvestro Playground Horticulture Club.

Workday photos 4.28.07

2007-04-28T16:43:00.000-04:00

A more relaxed workday after last week's intensive garden session. We built a new planting bed, the frame for our future vegetable plot and more parts to our rainbarrel system. Some new volunteers came out, too. Another good day!

April and May events

2007-04-23T12:55:00.000-04:00

We had an awesome workday on Sunday! A BIG thank you to everyone who came out and got their hands dirty. Also a special thank you to the Sanchez family for donating the plans and the materials for our new fence. The progress we made in just one afternoon is amazing. Great work, everyone. Your willingness to donate your time and your ongoing support has really made this garden happen.

For photos of our garden and our work sessions , click here.

See the sidebar for upcoming events! ------------------------------>

Workday Photos: 4.22.07

2007-04-23T12:54:00.000-04:00

Our workday on Sunday, April 22nd. We were rained out the week before, but this time we had beautiful weather.

We were able to accomplish a tremendous amount on Sunday. We planted flowers, built a fence and set up rainbarrels--all in one afternoon.

Everyone worked so hard; it was a great day!

Workday Postponed!

2007-04-14T12:11:00.000-04:00

Due to the weather forecast for Sunday--heavy rain and possibly snow!--our workday is postponed.

We will work instead on Sunday, April 22, 1-3pm.

See you then! Bring your shovels!

Next up...

2007-04-03T13:32:00.001-04:00

We had a great workday on Saturday. A big "thank you" to everyone who came and/or contributed! (Click here for photos.)

Here's a lot of important stuff that is coming up. Please bear with the length of the message and read carefully.

NEXT WORKDAY: Sunday, April 15th, 1-3pm
Now that the trash is gone, we can do some more work in our-soon-to-be garden. Possible projects: setting up rainbarrels, building rock (rubble?) borders, laying compost and planting.

NEXT PLANNING MEETING: Wednesday, April 18th, 7-8pm
(Can we make this earlier?)
It would probably be better if we had our next planning meeting a little earlier than originally scheduled. If you are going to attend the meeting, can you make it on 4/11 at the same time? Please let Mary know ASAP.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Many hands make for a successful garden. In other words, we need your help!!!! If you can do any of the following, please contact Mary.

1. Empty Jars & Color Copies. We are putting donation jars at some nearby businesses and need large jars. We also need someone to print out about 6 color copies on regular paper.

2. Yardsale volunteers & organizers. A yardsale/flower sale fundraiser for the garden is being planned for mid-May. More info at planning meeting.

3. Making phone calls. For reminding people without e-mail of workdays, etc.

GARDEN TENDERS Trainings

This month, Philadelphia Green is holding free Garden Tenders trainings for community gardeners. It would be great if a few of us could go to these workshops, which will be held on 4/18, 4/21, 4/25, 5/2, and 5/9. They are very informational, and are great for networking. More info is available at http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/phlgreen/gardentenders.html

First Workday Photos--3.31.07

2007-04-03T13:00:00.000-04:00

Here we are, cleaning and digging away. We cleared the lot of rubble and debris. We even cleaned the alley. And check out that brick path! (Thanks, Tiffany, for the photos!)

First Workday & "Things to Do"

2007-03-26T13:04:00.001-04:00

Thanks to everyone who came to our first planning meeting. We had a fruitful discussion and were able to cover many important issues. (My daughter Cara has also enjoyed the leftover snacks.) The next meeting will be on Weds. 4/21.

Also, thank you to everyone who is working on donations and other networking opportunities. Your willingness to do this work makes a big difference.

On the first workday on the lot this Saturday, we have decided to do the following:

*Clean out trash
*Remove rubble and rocks, save for later use.
*Build front border
*(Maybe) build back fence
*Eat pizza and meet other neighbors

THINGS YOU CAN DO:

1. Tools/gloves, etcs. for workday. If you are able to participate this Saturday, please remember to bring and label any equipment for participants to use.

2. Next workday. Another non-Saturday workday will be organized. This is especially for those of you who cannot come on Saturdays due to work commitments, etc.

3. Start Seeds. A generous person has also donated several SEED PACKETS. If you would like to start any of these seeds for the garden, please let Mary know ASAP... it's a little late, but a couple of weeks germinating indoors is still worthwhile.

4. Graffiti. Can someone call the Anti-Graffiti Network (215-685-9556) about the spray paint on the side of 1833 S. Hicks? Ask for a powerwash.

5. Talk to kids. Let the kids near you know that they are invited to help.

If you can think of anything else, feel free to post it on our blog or e-mail Mary.

Looking forward to Saturday!

"Before" photos: March 2007

2007-03-08T13:46:00.000-04:00

What the lot looks like now. We hope to begin work at the end of the month!