A Little History: This month I’d like to write about Minerva Park’s garden group,
MinervaFlora. The group has been around since 1991. It was formed by 6 residents including the late Mary Yost in preparation for the 1992 Ameriflora event in Columbus. You may recognize the name Mary Yost from the garden at the bend on Lakewood Drive near the playground. I did not live here while Mary was alive, but the stories are many of the gardener she was. But that is a story for another time.
The Group: In the years I’ve lived here our group has never been large, but the numbers dwindled until last year, when there was a call to work on some public garden beds. This year we are becoming more organized thanks to the skills of resident and member Molly Hood. We have formed more of an official group with regular meetings, and we are working toward creating goals for the group. Bob Gale has been the MPCA chair of Minerva Flora since 1998. I am currently his co-chair.
Our mission: To help the village care for public garden beds and beautify the neighborhood. Thankfully in the last couple years, a landscape company has been hired to take care of most of these, but MinervaFlora has retained care for some of the circle beds in the center of the courts and the decorative pots around the lakes.
Future Projects: Our group now is also interested in accomplishing many things including invasives control and encouraging native plantings and tree planting in the neighborhood and to elevate MP as the standout village that it is. We have been and will continue to be responsible for the annual MP Garden Tour and the Holiday Lights contest. Our first annual perennial plant sale, which will have occurred by the time this newsletter reaches you, will happen June 1 from 2-6p. We will have a booth at the Arts in the Park event which is
also sponsored by your Minerva Park Community Association.
Join Us: Please come and join us! Meetings are likely to take place on the 1st Sunday of each month (time TBD) at the community building. If you don’t care about meetings, come
weed with us. We have a rotating schedule which can be found on the Minerva Park Community Association Facebook page and the Village Facebook page.
Other Notables: if you are interested in ‘the little things that run the world’ (E.O.Wilson), check out the Pollinator Pathway. There is a very active group in Delaware and Licking counties and rumblings of one starting up in Franklin County. I believe MP is perfect for this concept, both in our private residential yards as well as our public areas. More about this in the future.
Also, if you have a garden, as you begin to harvest, if you find you have more abundance than you know what to do with, please consider donating to WARM (Westerville Area Resource Ministry). I typically take a harvest from the community garden at least once/week, and if you get the goods to me, I’m happy to take them.
Wishing you a bit o’ time in the garden...lisa
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