Putting the Beds to Bed

A small bevy of neighbors got together yesterday morning to help prepare the landscaping at the Parkside Playground for winter. Raking, pulling out crabgrass and weeds, cleaning up trash. It was a nice first step towards claiming the playground for the neighborhood, because ultimately, City playgrounds reflect the care attended them by locals. I've noticed that throughout the borough, folks have taken back public spaces from neglect by taking an active interest and "squeaking" to officials when things go awry. What was nice yesterday was to have a rep AND gardener from the Parks Department. John Clarke was the expert gardener and we learned a lot from him, including noting that a big clump of "weeds" was actually an herb that for centuries has been used to increase breast milk in nursing moms. What was the name of that plant? He said something about preparing it in a way that could trick kids into thinking they were brownies, but he kinda lost me there. Even at an early age, this blogger was able to tell the difference between a REAL brownie and some crunchy ground cover. Seriously now...

All in all, a great start. Kudos to Kimberlee Auletta for setting it up. Look for more playground action as we head into Spring.