A Visit to my Garden in Manhattan
Last week, members of MSLO organized a volunteer day at The Martha Stewart Garden for Living at Madison Avenue and 99th Street in Manhattan. This beautiful and serene community garden was funded by the Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Foundation in 2007 on an empty, trash infested lot at the George Washington Carver Residences, across the street from the Martha Stewart Center for Living at Mount Sinai Medical Center. The garden was designed by our garden editors Andrew Beckman, Tony Bielaczyc, and Stacey Hirvela. It features lovely perennials, shrubs and trees and is maintained by MSLO volunteers and residents from the George Washington Carver. The garden offers a wonderful refuge for patients at the Center for Living as well as the residents of George Washington Carver.
1 Andrew Beckman, gardener extraordinaire, standing proudly amidst his glorious work.
2 A group shot of the volunteer garden crew
3 Erin Furey and intern, Stephanie Batista, dressing the beds with Bronx zoo manure - including zebras' and giraffes'!
4 Jean Graham and Anthony Lucia shoveling and raking away
5 Caroline Sommer was happy to help - six months pregnant!
6 George Planding, was an especially ardent volunteer!
7 These are some members of the Green Team from The George Washington Carver Residences, where the Garden for Living is located.
8 A volunteer from the New York City Housing Authority
9 Anthony and Mitch Mondello
10 Andrew enjoyed this volunteer day.
11 Jean donned her MSLO rain slicker when it began to shower.
12 Jean and Erin were pleased with the day's progress.
13 Before long, the mulch was delivered.
14 All those bags of mulch didn't seem to faze the hard working volunteers.
15 Erin, Anthony, and Jean ham it up for the camera!
16 George admiring his hard work
17 Garden editor, Stacey Hirvela, coordinated this successful event.
18 This bed has a layer of manure and was waiting to be top-dressed with mulch.
19 Stacey cuts into the mountains of cedar mulch.
20 Waiting patiently for that mulch
21 Andrew and Malinda Futrell - a resident of George Washington Carver and the keeper of the Garden for Living - hams it up a bit.
22 Malinda being funny with Jean and Andrew
23 Lovely fuschia phlox was in full bloom.
24 Caroline and Erin clearly love their work.
25 Anthony was the designated mulch distributor.
26 And the designated mulch spreader
27 He spread the mulch thoroughly.
28 Stephanie and Ms. Cookie smile for the camera
29 Malinda was surprised to see that Caroline is pregnant!
30 Jean, Mitch, and Erin were so happy when the rain finally stopped.
31 Wet and dirty, but happy!
32 Mitch dealing with his supply of mulch
33 Mitch spreading mulch
34 Malinda is proud of this garden!
35 It looks like someone forgot the gardening gloves!
36 Jean and Stacey with Rob Bennaton of the New York City Housing Authority
37 A well-deserved lunch break
It's great to see that MSLO not only does good in the community but also keeps things going. The volunteers have been working hard but the work and effort has clearly paid off.
Posted by: Christian / @vfbr2001 | July 20th, 2010 at 1:37 am
Oh My!!!! If they did all of that, and before lunch, too, I wonder if they'd like to volunteer at my place?
It looks lovely.
Gloria!!
Posted by: Gloria | July 20th, 2010 at 1:38 am
Most of us are blessed in US with opportunity of helping others. When we help others, we help ourselves. Patients at the Center for Living as well as the residents of George Washington Carver are fortunate to enjoy time in this beautiful garden. Volunteering is a fun privilege and my hope is that I will be inspired to do so.
Posted by: ann | July 20th, 2010 at 9:57 am
What a great idea! I love projects like this. Right up the alley for Martha and her enthusiastic staff and volunteers!
Posted by: Mary Ellen Adams | July 20th, 2010 at 10:16 am
Martha, thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | July 20th, 2010 at 10:50 am
Hi Martha,
Your design editors as well as the volunteers from MSLO should be proud! They turned something ugly into something beautiful for many people in that neighborhood, under your guidance of course. Look for good things when Martha Stewart moves into the community! Well, if all the residents of George Washington Carver are as happy as Malinda appears, and if folks from the medical center can use it as a refuge, then I would say “mission accomplished”. Good job MSLO! Trish
Posted by: Trish | July 20th, 2010 at 11:40 am
To quote a wonderful lady "it's a good thing"....nice to see you have made this a spot of beauty!
Posted by: Redsoxgal | July 20th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
It's true! Gardening and giving go together!!
What a lovely place you all have created; long may it flourish and flower.
Posted by: Ann | July 20th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Wonderful idea! How about a vegetable garden next! I'd be glad to help when I visit NY.
Posted by: Kandy Maharas | July 20th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
Hi Martha, How great that you have such a fabulous garden in Manhattan across from your wonderful Martha Stewart Center for Living @ Mount Sinai Medical Center. Andrew and his great volunteers sure did a great job improving the garden even though it was raining part of the time. These photos were great and showed them all looking very pleased with what they were doing. Kudos to all of them! I'm sure that everyone that visits that garden area will love it! Thanks for sharing. Love, Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | July 20th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Making the world a better place. I firmly believe in "bloom where you're planted" and that is what you have been able to encourage here! Congratulations.
Posted by: Brenda Knowlton | July 20th, 2010 at 5:22 pm
Big Martha is smiling down from heaven! Way to go all volunteers!!!
Posted by: E. Teresa Touey | July 20th, 2010 at 7:07 pm
Great volunteers and great work. It is so easy and relatively inexpensive to "green" a city or any place. More trees and easy-to-maintain plants make for a healthy environment for city workers and everybody. Why have garbage littering a place when there can be green and colourful living things in its place? With a little guidance and thought the "right" plants will thrive in the "right" place. Thanks Martha & MLSO
Posted by: http://twitter.com/Geotravel | July 21st, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I am loving the free flowing lines of the garden design--am dying to know actually what variety of rose is pictured at the front of the garden?? Thanks for the inspiration!!
Posted by: Laura Green Thome | July 23rd, 2010 at 11:15 pm