Shrubs for Pennsylvania Gardens

We're under many inches of snow in the garden right now, which means it's time for the gardener's favorite cold-weather activity: looking at gardening catalogs! All of us have a stack of bulb, seed, and flower catalogs at home that we're using to fuel our creative energy for spring.

As you dream about your warm-weather garden next year, don't forget to check out the resources available through the Penn State College of Agricultural Science Cooperative Extension program. Soil testing kits, lists of native plants, tomato disease troubleshooting-- all of your gardening needs can be fulfilled.

I'm reminded of our friends at Penn State because of my reading material today: a handy publication called "A Guide For Selecting Shrubs For Pennsylvania Landscapes." It makes a good companion to all those garden catalogs.

Enjoy the snow!

The Shed Construction Project

As promised, here are some pix from the big NWP construction project!

This is what the shed looked like when it arrived in the morning. It was just a pile of cedar planks on a giant truck.

Turned out that those planks were actually pre-assembled walls and a platform. We had already prepared the site by leveling the ground, outlining the shed base with some repurposed timbers, and pouring a pea gravel base inside the timbers. Hopefully, this will keep the shed nice and dry during the summer monsoons we've been having for the past couple of years.

Aren't these guys good? They had the shell of the shed erected in no time flat.

At this point, the shed looked like a giant wooden box with no lid.

Then, it started to get even more exciting. Time for the roof!

This nail gun looks helpful. Maybe NWP should add "nail gun" to its wishlist of garden tools?

Up on the roof:

Since we couldn't help with the roofing, some of the Friends of Ned Wolf Park worked hard on weeding and clearing the beds for wintertime.

It was a beautiful, crisp Fall day. Even the fallen branches looked lovely.

Other Friends of Ned Wolf Park took the opportunity to catch up on the latest neighborhood news. This is how it goes in the garden: some work hard, some hardly work. :)

Roof shingles meant that the shed was nearly finished:

Wow! Isn't it a beauty?

We couldn't wait to go inside and check out the new space.

We couldn't resist the urge to pose:

Our hoses finally have a place to stay out of the elements during the winter. Thank you, all who contributed to this exciting project!

Ned Wolf Park has a New Shed!

Have you heard the news? There's a new shed in the park! All the gardeners agree: it's looking pretty snazzy. We can't wait until Spring comes-- there's plenty of opportunity to plant around our fancy new cedar shed. Stay tuned for some fun photos of the shed construction project!

Patch.com and Fall Cleanup

Mt. Airy Gardener columnist Virginia C. McGuire wrote a fantastic piece for Patch.com about Ned Wolf Park. Check it out, and if you're intrigued, we'd love to see you at our Fall Cleanup Day, Saturday Nov 6 from 10 AM to 1 PM!

Ned Wolf Park Wins PHS City Gardens Contest

We are pleased to announce that Ned Wolf Park has been awarded FIRST PLACE in the Community Gardens category of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's 2010 City Gardens Contest. Congratulations to all the NWP gardeners, and thanks to all of the community members whose dedication and contributions have made Ned Wolf Park bloom.

We'll be celebrating at the PHS Fall Garden Festival, held September 11 at the Navy Yard. Join us and help celebrate the season!

Third Annual Plant Sale

Please join us for the third annual Friends of Ned Wolf Park Plant Sale!

May 16, 9 am - 12 noon (Rain date: May 17)
Ned Wolf Park
Ellet & McCallum streets (Mt. Airy), Philadelphia, PA 19119

We'll be selling native plants, shade plants, specimen plants, perennials, heirloom tomato plants, and anything else we like.

To donate plants, or for details on the sale, contact Plant Sale Coordinator Eric Sternfels at 215-248-5533 or pourtensious@msn.com

New plants! You know you need them!

2009 Spring Cleanup!

It's time for the official launch of Spring... and that means SPRING CLEAN UP!

Please join us in the park on Saturday, March 21st, from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. We'll be sprucing up the garden in anticipation of spring showers and springtime blooms. We'll provide some drinks and snacks and tools, and we hope you'll also bring your favorite tools (and snacks?) to share (and show off?).

We know you’re dying to get out there after a long winter – so come join the gang and have some fun!