The past few years have seen major changes in Ormiston’s landscape. Compare 2017 to 2020.
The 2020 Garden. Spring arrived, reminding us that life goes on, even during Covid. How delightful to see hyacinths, daffodils, iris, Prince Edward’s cherry tree, the lovely rhododendrons and last year’s rose garden IN FULL BLOOM!
Covid was holding us back; Mother Nature was forging ahead. Hyacinths in the side garden, were originally donated by Fairmount Hardware. Daffodils edged the road, in the front garden, and the alphabet garden. Perennials transplanted from last year, bigger and better than the year before. The new rose garden and lamb’s ears originally planted for Rev Rose. And Prince Edward’s tree gracing us with its first blooms.
As people donned masks and were locked at home, there was an unexpected outcome. Philadelphians took to the great outdoors! For Ormiston, that meant that they bounded up the Boxer Trail and signed up as new volunteers. Volunteers were able to socially distance by spreading themselves around the garden, and scheduled themselves so they could work alone or in small groups. We had eight new garden volunteers who came by, often bringing children, friends and family to plant, mulch and weed.
Our team included five volunteers who became “the waterers,” sorely needed during the blazing hot days of July, when temperatures soared into the high 90’s, even to the low 100’s. The waterers included Paul Carey and friend Marcus, John Elburn and friend Eric, Brian Mildenberg and dog Ruby, Lisa Drechsel and friend Audrey Wood, and Nando Guddera. The “waterers” also helped house manager Rob clear the July tree debris at Ormiston, especially the trees and branches blocking the driveway and sidewalks.
Another group of volunteers focused on gardening tasks. This group included Alex Correia, Emma Klein, Tieara Stallworth, Danielle Stanford, Meg Waldron, Ann Kell, Melissa Ternells; and RHS members Freda Gowling, Anna Maria Vona, Betty Pitt and Bea Buford. Parents and children also stopped by to work informally in the garden, and others were well-intentioned but never quite returned after signing up.
Another nice surprise! In April we heard from the Philadelphia Committee of the Garden Club of America that we were awarded another Fertilizer Grant for our 2020 garden. Plans for designing programs for children were greatly curtailed, but we pressed forward with new projects.
The vegetable garden appeared to be abandoned, so the team jumped in and planted an assortment of vegetables in early summer. One volunteer (Alexandra) worked at Longwood Gardens and brought us some starter plants, including several kinds of tomatoes and herbs. Another new volunteer, Paul, experimented with a new gardening method called “square foot” gardening. In mid-August we picked our first crop of vegetables and had a vegetarian dinner on Ormiston’s front porch. It was a beautiful summer evening but guess what! No one took pictures, except for some pictures of the garden and our featured vegetables.
Last year we had programs for children, but this year our outreach with children was impromptu, having fun with children who happened to stop by with siblings and parents. Parents permitting, we put the kids to work, as shown here. They planted, watered, and hammered the stakes of 26 signs into the ground, each with one letter of the alphabet, to correspond with a flower or vegetable beginning with that letter.
Brian Mildenberg, one of our devoted waterers (shown here with dog Ruby), enticed his daughter to help in the garden. Gavriella asked to plant sunflowers in the vegetable garden. We were all amazed that they grew to be twice as tall as she is. We know the birds will be well-fed this fall!
In August, we invited old friends, new friends, and passersby, to come to the garden on Saturdays to find plants that start with letters A to Z. We supplied a checklist and set them loose in the garden. Those who found all the alphabet letters were then encouraged to make themselves a bouquet to take home.
Everyone wore masks, and we made hand sanitizer. Other precautionary items such as disposable gloves and Lysol were also made available.
We now have a long list of visitors who are interested in different aspects of life at Ormiston. Some are interested in the mansion, others in the garden, some want to work, others want to learn about events for children. We need to figure out ways to reach out to our growing Ormiston community.
Now it is fall. We are winding down, but planning for next year’s garden. We hope to move the vegetable garden nearer to the house, to ease the task of watering. Perhaps we can invest in soaker hoses for next year, and extend the stone path by placing additional stones. Also, we are planning to expand the garden just a little bit, because we have received donations of plants, seeds, and bulbs, and our existing plantings are growing and spreading. A nice problem. Now all we have to do is figure out how to deter the woodchucks, who are getting fatter by the day in anticipation of hibernation.
