Carol Jenkins (left) gardening at Clark Park with Lisa McDonald Hanes and Susie Pierce, gardener volunteers. (Photos courtesy of Friends of Clark Park)

Editor’s Note: This post has been submitted by Anna Selfridge, Vice President of Friends of Clark Park.

If you’ve strolled through Clark Park this past summer, you might have noticed the rejuvenation of the gardens along the park’s sidewalks and borders. This welcome change was the result of the new Gardening Program at Friends of Clark Park. The program is headed by Carol Jenkins, who has lived on the border of the park for 30 years.

“Since I spend so much time in Clark Park, I felt I needed to do something when I saw wild trees growing up through flowering shrubs, and weeds taking over flower gardens,” she said.

Carol joined the Friends following her retirement from teaching at Temple University specifically to put her green thumb to work. 

Garden plot at Baltimore Ave and 43rd St. Clark Park entrance.

Carol, along with the president of the Friends and landscape architect Lisa McDonald Hanes, Steve McCoubrey and the many dedicated community volunteers, worked hard to make improvements to the gardens. Along with the new plantings, edging was installed to protect the plants and added a pleasing feature. Scheduled workdays saw park lovers tend the gardens and pull the weeds that spread wildly during the rainy summer. The results were beautiful as seen in the picture of the garden at the entrance on 43rd and Baltimore Ave Clark Park entrance.

In addition, the gardens along the HMS School borders, Gettysburg Memorial Stone, and Charles Dickens and Little Nell statues have all undergone vast improvements. Friends hired landscape contractors to remove ivy, weeds, and prepare the soil while the garden volunteers planted over 300 new beautiful, diverse flowers and shrubs. The result of this effort was visible throughout the summer as the planting of new shrubs took hold, and the flowers blossomed.

To continue this program next year, please donate to the Clean and Green Campaign to keep the gardens lush with beautiful vegetation and the park tidy for next season. In 2019, the Friends plans to add even more vegetation to fill the garden plots and carry the improvements done in the north section over to the gardens on the south side of the park.

Please support Friends of Clark Park by becoming a member, volunteer by emailing Volunteer@friendsofclarkpark.org and donating to the Clean and Green Campaign for 2019.

To learn more about Friends of Clark Park, visit: www.friendsofclarkpark.org, and also check out the video below.

– Anna Selfridge