Dear Friends, LoMo, East Passyunk Crossing, Newbold, Pennsport, Point Breeze, Passyunk Square... when I first moved to 12th and Dickinson in 2008 I have to admit that "South Philly" felt so big to me. So many different neighborhoods... distinct boundaries of civic associations... feeling like I needed my passport just to cross Broad Street. In fact, my husband and I chuckle about the question our realtor asked when I mentioned that there were some houses listed on Jackson Street... "does she know how far Jackson is?" A few weekends ago, a group of committee members and I started hand delivering Co-op share certificates to everyone who has paid up their full $200 equity. As I walked from block to block and house to house I began to sense that South Philly was somehow smaller now - no longer a bunch of distinct neighborhoods or blocks - but a community of people connected to each other by the Co-op. I discovered so many great little blocks that I’d never been down and I noticed a lot of similarities - the cat and dog finder rescue stickers, little planter boxes or container gardens - among the houses of Co-op members. Most of all, I loved getting to meet the many people who were home when I rang their doorbells to drop off the certificates. For everyone involved in the Co-op, our community has gotten bigger (292!) while South Philly itself feels that much smaller. If you haven't joined yet, becoming a part of this community is as easy as clicking on this link to fill out an application and sending your first equity payment. If you pay off the whole $200 you can expect a ring on your doorbell from one of our committee members who will be delivering your Co-op share certificate. We print the certificates twice a year before the general membership meetings. In the meantime, we have another great way for you to see parts of the neighborhood you may have never experienced before: the Second Annual South Philly Garden Tour on 9/8 (THIS Saturday!). Check out the many Garden Tour Countdown posts on this blog for more information about how you can finally get into that neighbor's backyard that you've been dying to see. Have a great week! Alison L. Fritz President, Board of Directors South Philly Food Co-op P.S. If you had paid your full $200 before our spring membership meeting and haven't gotten your certificate yet, don't worry. We haven't forgotten you. We will be stopping by soon to drop it off soon. Thanks!

Gardeners are ingenious people. After all, they take dirt, water and dried-up little seeds and turn them into crisp vegetables, juicy fruits and glorious flowers. Such ingenuity often extends beyond planting and maintenance. Just ask the Friends of Manton Street Park and Community Garden. When they needed some dirt, just like a certain famous pig, they got some help from a spider, with a donation of soil from the Arden Theatre Company’s production of Charlotte’s Web—after Wilbur no longer needed his pen.

That’ll do, garden tour participants. That’ll do.

See this and other neighborhood gardens on the Second Annual South Philly Food Co-op Garden Tour, on Sat., Sept. 8, 2012 (raindate Sun., Sept. 9, 2012) from 1-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at http://southphillygardentour.eventbrite.com/ or at these locations:

Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
Ultimo Coffee, 1900 South 15th St.,
Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th St.

The Garden Tour will be a self-guided ticketed event, and will feature over 20 public and private gardens throughout South Philadelphia. Participating gardens will have their doors/gates open for the duration of the event, and will have someone available to greet visitors, show them around and answer questions. RSVP on Facebook here.

This is one of many fundraisers that will help us raise the funds for a site analysis of potential store locations. Help us make it a success – buy tickets for yourself, your friends and your family! And, if you haven’t yet joined, meet some of our member-owners and please consider joining now!

Just a really quick reminder that TODAY is the LAST day to take advantage of the offer our friends at The Energy Co-op have made to donate $20 to the South Philly Food Co-op for each household that joins and mentions the South Philly Food Co-op  as their referral. Alison and I signed up for this last summer when we had a similar offer from The Energy Co-op and couldn't be happier with the rates and the great feeling of knowing we're supporting a local, cooperatively owned, energy supplier that gets all of its energy from local, renewable sources. Somehow our lights just seem that much brighter!

The Energy Co-op is a member-owned, not-for-profit, service-driven energy provider that promotes efficient energy use and the use of renewable energy; provides energy cost savings, education and advocacy on behalf of its members; and, of course, supports cooperative movements.

Learn more about The Energy Co-op at their web site (full disclosure: yours truly is a member), and if you want to join, you can do it HERE (just remember the South Philly Food Co-op sent ya!) And, of course, if you haven't yet joined the South Philly Food Co-op and have been thinking you'd like to, well, now would be a great time to do that, too ;)

I think that we gardeners all want something a little different from our green spaces.  For me, it was tw0-fold.  I wanted the sense of bringing fresh vegetables from the garden to the kitchen that I had when I was growing up in Westmoreland County.  And I wanted to conceal the concrete-block walls with living greenery -- especially in the gray winter months.  On top of that, my family wanted a cozy spot to enjoy some outdoor hanging out.  I've found it's not impossible to get all this, but it takes time, careful space management, and planning.  I'd like to share with you some of the things that worked for me.  (As well as a few cautionary tales.) 

See this and other neighborhood gardens on the Second Annual South Philly Food Co-op Garden Tour, on Sat., Sept. 8, 2012 (raindate Sun., Sept. 9, 2012) from 1-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at our eventbrite.com page or at these locations:

• • Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue

 

• • Ultimo Coffee, 1900 South 15th St.

 

• • Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th St.

The Garden Tour will be a self-guided ticketed event, and will feature over 20 public and private gardens throughout South Philadelphia. Participating gardens will have their doors/gates open for the duration of the event, and will have someone available to greet visitors, show them around and answer questions. RSVP on Facebook here.

This is one of many fundraisers that will help us raise the funds for a site analysis of potential store locations. Help us make it a success – buy tickets for yourself, your friends and your family! And, if you haven’t yet joined, meet some of our member-owners and please consider joining now!

It's somewhere down there!

Here's a fun fact... one of the gardens on this year's South Philly Garden Tour is located on the roof of a building that is taller than anything else within a mile! The lucky owners of this home have a view that rivals anything those folks in the (ahem) Residences at Two Liberty Place have. (You can't see Two Liberty Place from Two Liberty Place, can you? A ha!)

You'll go up 66 steps from the street to the garden to catch site of an urban oasis that you'll only ever be able to see again on Google Maps. (Unless, that is, you become buddies with the home owners!)

See this and other neighborhood gardens on the Second Annual South Philly Food Co-op Garden Tour, on Sat., Sept. 8, 2012 (raindate Sun., Sept. 9, 2012) from 1-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at our eventbrite.com page or at these locations:

• Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
• Ultimo Coffee, 1900 South 15th St.
• Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th St.

The Garden Tour will be a self-guided ticketed event, and will feature over 20 public and private gardens throughout South Philadelphia. Participating gardens will have their doors/gates open for the duration of the event, and will have someone available to greet visitors, show them around and answer questions. RSVP on Facebook here.

This is one of many fundraisers that will help us raise the funds for a site analysis of potential store locations. Help us make it a success – buy tickets for yourself, your friends and your family! And, if you haven’t yet joined, meet some of our member-owners and please consider joining now!

Paolone Park, the approximately 30-year-old sliver of greenspace tucked down one of South Philly's quaintest blocks, is a marvel of community collaboration. Neighbors created—and work together to maintain—this miniature wonderland of trees, flowers and well-manicured shrubbery, volunteering time, energy, plants and money toward upkeep of this hidden gem.

In 2007, the park was further beautified when neighbors worked with iconic mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar to cover the back walls of several houses on Medina street with one of his trademark tile, glass and mirror works.

See this and other neighborhood gardens on the Second Annual South Philly Food Co-op Garden Tour, on Sat., Sept. 8, 2012 (raindate Sun., Sept. 9, 2012) from 1-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at our eventbrite.com page or at these locations:

• • Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue

 

• • Ultimo Coffee, 1900 South 15th St.

 

• • Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th St.

The Garden Tour will be a self-guided ticketed event, and will feature over 20 public and private gardens throughout South Philadelphia. Participating gardens will have their doors/gates open for the duration of the event, and will have someone available to greet visitors, show them around and answer questions. RSVP on Facebook here.

This is one of many fundraisers that will help us raise the funds for a site analysis of potential store locations. Help us make it a success – buy tickets for yourself, your friends and your family! And, if you haven’t yet joined, meet some of our member-owners and please consider joining now!

Just a really quick reminder that through August 31 (which is THIS FRIDAY), our friends at the Energy Co-op will donate $20 to the South Philly Food Co-op for each household that joins and mentions the South Philly Food Co-op  as their referral.

The Energy Co-op is a member-owned, not-for-profit, service-driven energy provider that promotes efficient energy use and the use of renewable energy; provides energy cost savings, education and advocacy on behalf of its members; and, of course, supports cooperative movements.

Learn more about The Energy Co-op at their web site (full disclosure: yours truly is a member), and if you want to join, you can do it HERE (just remember the South Philly Food Co-op sent ya!) And, of course, if you haven't yet joined the South Philly Food Co-op and have been thinking you'd like to, well, now would be a great time to do that, too ;)

 

Harry O's Passyunk Gardens is sure to be a hot spot on September 8's Second Annual South Philly Food Co-op Garden Tour -- it's gorgeously lush, eye-catching, and a much-needed slice of greenery amid the Cheesesteak Vegas that is the corner of Wharton and Passyunk. Plus, there's the Rachael Ray factor -- the Queen of EVOO herself is the one responsible for bringing this urban garden to South Philly.

Designed by landscape architect Dean Hill and built by the Rachael Ray Show in August 2011 as the backdrop for the taping of the "Great Philly Grill-Off," Harry O's Passyunk Gardens became, in a matter of mere days, a fully functioning raised-bed garden containing 16 raised beds, a vertical flowerbed, 2,869-gallon rainwater cisterns and an iron fence, according to Peter Crimmins' Aug. 30, 2011, report on WHYY/Newsworks. After taping, the show's producers left the garden to be maintained by the Camden Children's Garden and Passyunk Square Civic Association.

The garden operates as a collective, with everyone sharing the planting duties and the harvest; all food is donated to neighbors who come by on Sundays, with any surplus going to local food pantries.

See this and other neighborhood gardens on the Second Annual South Philly Food Co-op Garden Tour, on Sat., Sept. 8, 2012 (raindate Sun., Sept. 9, 2012) from 1-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at http://southphillygardentour.eventbrite.com/ or at these locations:

Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
Ultimo Coffee, 1900 South 15th St.,
Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th St.

The Garden Tour will be a self-guided ticketed event, and will feature over 20 public and private gardens throughout South Philadelphia. Participating gardens will have their doors/gates open for the duration of the event, and will have someone available to greet visitors, show them around and answer questions.

This is one of many fundraisers that will help us raise the funds for a site analysis of potential store locations. Help us make it a success - buy tickets for yourself, your friends and your family! And, if you haven't yet joined, meet some of our member-owners and please consider joining now!

No one will likely confuse South Philadelphia for the rolling hills of Oxfordshire, but that didn’t stop Historic City Gardens, a decade-old organization that creates unique “concept gardens” in order to help make Philly more green, from planting an English-style garden a stone’s throw from the Mummers’ golden-slippered stomping grounds. In fact, it was the Joker’s Mummers Club, along with other volunteers and neighbors that helped with creating the garden, after an earlier one deteriorated. This English style garden’s design was inspired by frilly women's fashions, which is suggested by the tiered nearly symmetrical layout and the use of red, yellow and lavender pink flowers, as well as woody plants.

See this and other neighborhood gardens on the Second Annual South Philly Food Co-op Garden Tour, on Sat., Sept. 8, 2012 (raindate Sun., Sept. 9, 2012) from 1-5 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at http://southphillygardentour.eventbrite.com/ or at these locations:

Urban Jungle, 1526 E. Passyunk Avenue
Ultimo Coffee, 1900 South 15th St.,
Grindcore House, 1515 S. 4th St.

The Garden Tour will be a self-guided ticketed event, and will feature over 20 public and private gardens throughout South Philadelphia. Participating gardens will have their doors/gates open for the duration of the event, and will have someone available to greet visitors, show them around and answer questions.

This is one of many fundraisers that will help us raise the funds for a site analysis of potential store locations. Help us make it a success - buy tickets for yourself, your friends and your family! And, if you haven't yet joined, meet some of our member-owners and please consider joining now!

 

 

I can't tell you how excited I am for this year's Garden Tour coming up at 1pm on Saturday, September 8 (rain date: 9/9). Our Garden Tour Committee has done an absolutely amazing job finding and recruiting over 20 urban oases to be a part of this year's tour, most of which were not on the tour last year. We listened to the feedback that participants gave us last year and put the focus of the 2012 tour on home and private gardens at homes and businesses. Over the next two weeks (that's right - the tour is only two weeks from TODAY), our team of bloggers will be bringing you previews of what's the come. I'm lucky enough to get to kick things off with one stop that I'm making a priority when I do the tour. Anna Maria and Carmen Vona have owned and operated Carmana Designs, Ltd., a high-end cabinetmaking and mill shop for 31 years. They have been at their McKean Street location for the past 12 years and after extensively renovating the 30,000 sq. ft. facility, they had little funds left for landscaping the quaint cobblestone courtyard. A low loading dock in the courtyard provided a haven for loiterers who left trash behind. They creatively solved both issues with salvaged concrete flower planters from the Bellevue Stratford Hotel, free compost from the City and lots of shrubs, plants and flowers. Today the cobblestone courtyard cascades with sweet potato vine, black-eyed susans azaleas, lilies, petunias, geraniums, mums, clematis, salvia, vinca, ornamental grasses and herbs. The unsavory characters who used to frequent the space have been displaced by Monarch butterflies and even praying mantises. So don't wait. Get your tickets today. Save yourself $5 by buying in advance. Tickets are $20 and available at Urban Jungle, (1526 E. Passyunk Avenue), Ultimo Coffee (1900 South 15th St.), Grindcore House (1515 S. 4th St.), and online.