Garden Update

Diane Helm has published the Garden Masterplan

Here are the highlights:

I’ve put together a list of tasks we need to complete by spring so we can begin planting the rest of the garden. These items should be achievable with the funding we’ll request in the 2025–2026 Rotary Budget. Please review the list below and let me know if anything is missing or if you’re willing to take the lead on any of the tasks:

Watering Schedule – Set up a monthly watering rotation for current plants*. If each Rotary member signs up once a month, we should be covered.
Sod Removal – Phase 1 – Reach out to local sod farms to see if they’re interested in removing sod at no cost.
Sod Removal – Phase 2 – If no luck with sod farms, get estimates from local landscapers for sod removal.
Community Partnerships – Contact local garden clubs, scout troops, Whitehall Farms, and Norristown Rotaract to explore collaboration.
Fall Work Day – Schedule a cleanup day in Sept/Oct to remove remnants of the original garden so the township can re-seed. This includes relocating the Weeping Redbud to its new spot.
Fence Installation – If we receive the District Rotary grant, we’ll have funding to install the garden fence.

Next Steps:

Let me know if you see any missing tasks or if you can take ownership of one of the items listed above.
Once we have a solid plan, we’ll schedule a Zoom meeting to review progress and finalize roles.

**The existing rain barrel is leaking and cannot be repaired. With this year’s funds, we have purchased a new rain barrel and will ask the W.N. Parks & Rec to replace it for us. Once that is done, Judy Bucko will donate a 100’ garden house to make this task easier.

Feel free to call me if you have any questions.

Thanks to everyone for your interest in this project.,

As many of you know from attending lunch meetings, we are working to obtain a bench for our Padden Park Garden project from Trex. All we have to do is collect our plastic. I am attaching a list of all the plastics we can recycle. We have just 1 year to collect 1000 pounds, so your participation is important. So far we have dropped off 61 pounds, and we only have til May 31, 2026, to collect another 939 pounds. You can bring your recyclable items to any meeting. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Thanks, and please tell all your friends!

Diane Helm