Thanks to 8 neighbors that spent an hour and a half last Thursday to divide and plant 48 gallon sized Monkey Grass, yellow lantana and purple duranta (to bring in butterflies), and ardesia crenata (Christmas berry, a shade lover).
photo below by David Armond
photos below by Brenda London
We mulched, amended soil, divided Paper Whites to replant this fall, and trimmed 5 Natchez Crape Mytles that we planted maybe a dozen years ago. $500 went quickly from 5 trips to 3 Home Depots!
Unfortunately 10 bags of soil and 6 bags of mulch disappeared into a white pickup. I had too many loads of stuff to manage in a Subaru and left it out at the park the nite before, gone at 630 am. I vented my disgust by howing weeds vigorously! Neighbors report frequent plant thefts near Broad. We replaced what we really needed, and will wait to augment soil in another phase.
So thanks to people from all over our neighborhood who worked, found their garden Zen, and had a good time:
Steve Mardon (our Desmare liason)
Brenda London (Grand Rte St John)
Deena Bedigan (Delgado-she did a perfect job separating monkey grass)
Danny Akers (worked and treated us to fresh squeezed lemonade) also involved with Café Amelie on Royal, (Crete St)
Helen Ball (rode her bike from St John’s Court)
David Armond- N Lopez
Katy Smith (new young neighbor from Jackson) Bell St
The soaking rain this weekend insures that this project is off to a great start. We have promises from Andy Romero, David Lapene and Danny Akers to keep the new plantings watered thru the summer. We can always use extras…
Future needs include a streetlight (way to dark here),repair some crumbling interior sidewalk, sprinkler system, a creative welcome to FSJ sign, sculpture. These are LONG term dreams. Very open to input and help make the connections. I do better with my hands in the dirt!!
I will be asking Parks and Parkways to remove a phoenix palm growing at the base of an oak.
Love this neighborhood!
Bobby
Bobby Wozniak
1322 North Lopez Street
New Orleans, LA 70119
Cell: 504.452.0386