4,800 Bulbs Distributed to Community Gardens in Final Distribution of 2016
Combining history and horticulture, the CCGA held its final plant distribution of the year on October 15 in the Garfield Park Conservatory’s Jensen Room. We were greeted on Saturday morning not with rain and soggy fields, but with beautiful – and dry – flowering bulbs! The bulbs were presorted, bagged, and ready for planting by the 60 area community gardens that registered for the distribution. As a little something extra, seeded plugs of oak leaf, green leaf, and romaine lettuce, donated by Westover Farms of Long Grove, were also available to take home.
Previous CCGA distributions earlier in the year featured plant material generously donated by growers and nurserymen. With the proceeds of those events for which gardeners paid a small fee of $5 per garden, CCGA Resources Committee was able to buy 4,800 bulbs from Van Engelen, a fourth generation family-owned company of flower bulb specialists. The bulbs for CCGA included yellow flowering Triumph Tulips, Lily Flowering Tulip Mix, Allium aflatunense Purple Sensation, and a Sparkling Spring Narcissus Mixture.
Just before the bags of bulbs were distributed, participating gardeners were seated in the historic Jensen Room lined with vintage black and white photographs of the Garfield Park Conservatory. Angela O’Rourke related the inspiring story of the beginning of Mozart Community Garden. We learned how this Humboldt Park garden went from a disused playlot on CHA property to a neighborhood-run community asset.
Those who wanted a demonstration of how to plant the bulbs were invited outside for a demonstration by Mattie Wilson, Sustainability and Adult Programs Manager for the Conservatory. The general rule she gave everyone is to plant the bulbs to a depth 2.5 times their height. Novel suggestions were offered about how to cheat squirrels out of snagging them, including sticking a plastic fork over the planted bulb!
The CCGA Resources Committee thanks everyone who participated in this event.
