April 1st...Hot and rainy

After just enough rain to darken a new layer of mulch, this showy drift of Chionodoxa welcomes spring on this April Fools Day.

On the sunny side of the garden, Donkeytail spurge aka Euphorbia myrsinites, mixes with Grape hyacinth. In the next weeks, most of the perennials will awaken from winter dormancy.  Come visit and see the progress!

Ned Wolf Park 2016 Plant Sale

It's time to think about spring planting... and the annual Ned Wolf Park Plant Sale!

The 2016 Plant Sale will be held on Saturday May 14, from 10 AM to 1 PM in Ned Wolf Park, corner of Ellet & McCallum in Mt. Airy. Rain date is Sunday May 15, 10 AM - 1 PM. Hundreds of plants for sun and shade, including perennials, shrubs and some annuals, will be on sale. Proceeds support the work of the Friends of Ned Wolf Park.

We are accepting donations of plants for the sale. For more info, contact Eric Sternfels at emsternfels@icloud.com.

Plant Sale

Saturday, May 30, 10 AM to 1 PM

At the park: corner of Ellect and McCallum Streets

Hundreds of plants for sun and shade, including perennials, shrubs and some annuals, will be on sale. Proceeds support the work of the Friends of Ned Wolf Park.

We're still accepting donations of plants for the sale. For more info, contact Eric Sternfels at emsternfels@msn.com.

Wedding #2

Believe it or not, just a few weeks after Ned Wolf Park's first wedding came the second couple to select our park as the site for their marital union, 

Delia Raab-Snyder and James Lewis. 

 Delia wanted her wedding ceremony to be free and clear of most traditions but she & James were married under a canopy.  She's shown here "breaking the glass", another Jewish tradition, though usually performed by the groom.

After the late afternoon ceremony was concluded, the happy couple paraded to their reception with guests and a Dixieland band in tow.  As you can see in the background of this photo, the chairs set up in the park's central terrace were quickly removed within a few minutes of the wedding party's departure.  We sure hope that more folks will think of Ned Wolf Park as a place to celebrate special moments in their lives!

Newly Wed @ NWP

Anthony Saint-Preux and Clint'a Johnson 

 

 

 

 

Ned Wolf Park hosted its first wedding in August as Clint'a and Anthony declared their vows before friends and family in the newly updated central terrace.  [Looks like our new wall served as a perfect perch for a photographer taking intimate images of the nuptuals.

Afterward, the photographers took some pictures of the wedding party including the bride's attendants wearing coral and groomsmen in black suits.  Then on to some special shots of just the newlyweds.  Only difficulty for the beaming bride was walking through the lawn with her ultra-high black stiletto heels as the couple moved from being framed by the shed doors...........

.......to the a spot behind the planted island bed where a collection of late summer blooming flowers helped show off the happy couple.   Overcast skies did not dampen the warm spirit of this joyous occasion. We sure hope Clint'a & Anthony will keep visiting & let the beauty of our gardens remind them of this memorable milestone....for them and for Ned Wolf Park.

More donor bricks installed

Just a few weeks ago, another 16 bricks were added to the corners of the brick insert at Ned Wolf Park's central terrace.  Brick donor Laurel Harrish recently brought her two daughters to see the brick which she had engraved for them as a lasting marker of their connection to their beloved first home in Mt. Airy.    It's no accident that this is such an appealing photograph.  Check out this professional local photographer's website: www.laurelharrishphotography.com 

You, too, can commemorate a loved one, publicly say thank you to someone in the community, or just support the Friends of Ned Wolf Park's efforts to improve the park for the community by donating $100 for a personally inscribed brick.  Pick up one of the brochure/order forms in the park's information boxes.  Or you can scroll back through past posts to find a printable copy of our order form.  And, you can even pay via Paypal using the link on the righthand margins of this blog.

Sultry Summer

Late July in Ned Wolf Park is perhaps not the most colorful but the richness of plantings keeps the gardens interesting.  Here's a view from the McCallum Street entrance into the park, showing the array of groundcovers with different textures winding between the trees.

If you look closely in the center of the shade gardens, you'll find some newly planted plants which bear red flowers with yellow tips.  It's called Spigelia and it's actually a native plant which we hope will grow to add some sparks with it's firecracker-like flowers.

  

On the sunny side of the gardens, there are some blue pansies still holding their own since being planting last October.  This photo shows the dusky pink blooms of Eupatorium 'Baby Joe', which is a dwarf version of the plant commonly called Joe Pye Weed.  Our trio of 'Baby Joes' is blooming at four feet tall , rather than the 7 or 8 feet of the original native plant.   It's a magnet for pollinators, including butterflies.  You'll also see some long purple flower stalks of Liatrus which is sometimes called Gayfeather. And our fragrant Agastaches, have begun blooming with pink & orange flowers and will continue until frost.  Be sure to touch the leaves to smell the lovely anise scent. Peach Drift roses continue to bloom along with blue butterfly bush in the central island bed. 

We've filled a few holes in the garden with some annual plantings, like these Coleus 'Texas Driveway' located behind the central terrace seating wall.  We are already planning some new plantings to enrich the garden beds, but we'll hold off planting more until the weather cools a bit in September. 
Hope you'll visit and enjoy the gardens at Ned Wolf Park!