New Garden Club Is Looking to Grow

By Angela Iovino and Rebecca Peterson, co-chairs

When you increase the number of gardens, you increase the number of heavens. — Mehmet Murat Ildan, Turkish contemporary writer

photo by alex frederick.

photo by alex frederick.

For more than nine decades, Burleith gardens have brought joy to neighbors, passersby, countless species of birds, and sometimes even a few hungry rabbits. And for most of that time, Burleith gardeners have been able to share their passion through the Burleith Garden Club. Founded in 1926, the club played an important part in the development of the neighborhood until it was disbanded around 2000.

The newly revived Burleith Garden Club meets for the first time on Sunday, May 3, from 2 to 3 pm. Please email ContactBurleithGardenClub@gmail.com if you are interested in joining this Burleith Special Interest Group (BSIG). BSIGs are a BCA member benefit, so if you're not a current member, click here to join or renew.


Photo by Rebecca peterson.

Photo by Rebecca peterson.

Gardeners are romantically described as soul searchers, dreamers, and whimsical creatures in much of English literature. Of course, poetry and gardening are coupled often because both are artifice—created from a mysterious part of our minds and hearts. Gardens come alive by virtue of their caretakers who for many different reasons are thrilled by those seeds sprouting, the first buds unravelling, and the snap of dead flowers in their fingers making room for new stalks pushing toward the sun. 

Many intrepid gardeners are akin to scientists in their collecting of species of plants—many of which are strange and wonderful. Flower gardens beautify and soften the rigid structure of the houses they surround, and perfume the neighborhood with their sweet scents. Vegetable and herb gardens supply our kitchens and dining rooms with tasty morsels. 

As spring has finally arrived, it’s time for Burleith residents to spruce up our yards—front and back—after a long winter’s rest. Consider planting a single rose bush in a sunny spot—or a patch of feathery Astilbe in a square foot of earth. You’ll soon be enchanted by colorful blooms and the smiles of many admirers, human and four-footed.