Not everyone can stay at home. In parks the gardens are still growing and need attention, so gardeners are still at work making the place welcoming for New Yorkers who need solace, fresh air and sunshine. Over the winter Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy redesigned entrance gardens to the oval path and yesterday 1,200+ new plants arrived that the the Conservancy purchased with funding from Council Member Alan Maisel. (I helped unload the truck.) Once these new plants are in the ground, Marine Park Alliance volunteers follow up with watering and weeding (one person at a time to keep social distancing) with the help of a grant from Con Edison. This happens all under the guidance of Marine Parks’ Lead Gardener, Ronen Gamil, who promotes native species to support biodiversity both locally and globally.The native species plants were purchased from horticulturists by their Latin names like rudbeckia hirta, solidago sempervirens, eragrostis spectablilis and asarum canadense. To me these are black-eyed Susan, seaside goldenrod, lovegrass and wild ginger. To all of us, they will be verdant beauty when in the ground.
Keep watching the entrance gardens around the oval path as they grow!
Best,
Maria D’Alessandro
Board Chair, Marine Park Alliance
