Mary Dean had replaced the plants in front of her Springdale home with natives three years ago, so when she learned her community was planning to replant the median strips in two entranceways to her community, she volunteered to organize the overhaul of these gardens. We hope that the space brings enjoyment to all!” -Craig Lammes and Kara Silber Lammes Food trucks use this space monthly, and families eat their meals cross-legged on the grass, sitting among an array of native plants, busy mason bees, jewel-green long-legged flies, monarch caterpillars, orange and black assassin bugs and many more. "Neighbors have started to contribute their own plants, kick in with watering (the biggest challenge of all in this space), and have started to help with the mowing and keeping the garden tidy. Transplanting those plants to the community garden space allowed us to share that same experience with a neighborhood we really love. We’d learned so much after transitioning our own garden to native plants, and have been constantly thrilled with the diversity of insects, birds and animals the new garden now attracts. My wife Kara and I wound up adopting it at the height of our COVID-imposed isolation-as an excuse to get out of our own yard and interact with neighbors and families visiting the Rodgers Forge tot lot. “The tot lot garden community space had originally been a neighborhood garden in the past, but had been neglected for quite awhile. Walking through this garden, I feel a connection with those neighbors, whose memories add so much to the joy and pleasure this community garden gives to all of us." -Tracey Marcantoni There are trees planted in honor of neighbors who have since passed on. It's been lived in and loved by so many people. "We strive to make our park a place for all ages to enjoy, from birth through 100 years old. These improvements were organized by Melanie Hotham and Tracey Marcantoni, with help from many community members.
The heavy rains we’ve had this spring and summer were absorbed by this new rain garden within four hours, preventing runoff and erosion. One area of this park has always had problems with flooding during heavy rains, so putting in a rain garden was a priority. Last year, a community grant allowed the community association to add a new pollinator garden bed, create a rain garden, and remove invasive burning bush plants and replace them with native blueberries, a host plant for hairstreak butterflies. This community garden has been in existence for 79 years and there are more than 20 mature native trees on the property, as well as a hardscape walking path, a children’s play area, a community vegetable garden, and an area for barbecues and picnics.
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