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Fitler Vibe: Horticultural Edition

06.28.2020
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While the spring of 2020 will always be remembered for the COVID-19 outbreak and the challenges it created, there have been some winners that have emerged over the past few months. Rescue dogs, Peleton, Zoom and Lysol are just a few of the beneficiaries of that #stayhome life. However, it’s another less obvious rock star of quarantine that is the subject of this edition of The Vibe. That’s right, we are talking about GARDENS.

During those cold, windy days of April, how many of you stared out of your window (while Zooming) at your barren, bleak balcony, patio or backyard? Subsequently, in May, how many of you visited the Garden department of your local home improvement store only to leave feeling like you’d lost years of your life to the nightmare that is Home Depot during quarantine? Perhaps you persevered through the adversity and your hydrangeas are now in full bloom. Perhaps you gave up and returned to watching TikTok videos. We don’t judge. Instead, we invite you to join us for a stroll through some of Philadelphia’s best urban gardens.

 

 

It should come as no surprise that our first stop is Fitler Club’s very own “The Garden.” Necessity is the mother of invention. We knew we needed to provide our members with an outdoor dining experience like none other in the city.

Therefore, we turned to our friends at Shearon Environmental Design. If you’ve dined with us in The Garden, you know how good it is. If you haven’t yet, make your reservation already! Here’s the menu.

Suzanne Saylor directed The Garden project on behalf of Shearon Environmental Design and she was kind enough to share her thoughts on all things plants.

 

 

What was your vision for The Garden?
We wanted The Garden to align with the existing unique vibe of the Fitler Club. For me, that meant going for an exquisite and colorful look that did not follow the traditional tendency to select flowering plants. Instead, we wanted to highlight a unique variety of non-flowering plants that on their own possess diverse and stunning textures, shapes and a wide palette of contrasting, yet complementary colors. Therefore, we chose plants like river birch, crape myrtle, hydrangea lime light, creeping Jenny, sweet potato vine, sedum, blue angle hosta, cat mint, and lots of different grasses. Of course, we did add in a splash of purple here and there.

What tips or tricks do you have for people who are thinking of sprucing up their own outdoor space?
Container gardening is one of my favorite ways to garden. Whether you are growing flowers, shrubs or vegetables, it is a super simple method to plant things like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers or herbs. My expert tip is to grow what you like to eat! Basil, Thyme and Rosemary are just a few of the herbs that will thrive in containers and add extra pizzazz to your meals.

Urbanscaping can be challenging due to the increased wind that you can experience in the city along with air pollution. We find that boxwoods, hollies, sky pointers, English ivy cypress, junipers and hydrangea all tolerate urban environments well. Get creative if you have a small space. Utilize the walls and anywhere you can hang planters. This will help add depth to your landscape.

 

 

What is your favorite garden?
My favorite public garden to visit is Chanticleer Garden in Wayne, Pa. Chanticleer is a very unique garden with lots of history. Being outside and connecting with nature is imperative to me. I always feel my best when I am soaking up sunshine surrounded by greenery! The great thing about gardening is that you can create a peaceful outdoor space for yourself and to share with others. Even if your outdoor space is small, you can personalize it and make it an expression of who you are while creating a peaceful and therapeutic natural landscape.

 

 

Why is it worth it to invest in urban landscaping?
Any kind of landscaping is worth the investment. Landscaping is a vital component of urban development’s adoption of sustainability practices. From rooftop gardens to living walls to community gardens, urban landscaping is the wave of the future. Not only does it have a positive impact on the planet, it also improves the health and wellbeing of people.

The Garden: A Virtual Tour

 


 

 

While leisure travel isn’t altogether canceled due to COVID-19, it’s certainly taken a hit. With more people adapting to a home-centric lifestyle, Hoffman Design Group (HDG) is capitalizing by helping people create a ‘tropical staycation’ environment in their homes. “We know that introducing nature and sustainable design to residential atmospheres reduces stress and increases relaxation,” said Kevin Maloney, Managing Director at Hoffman Design Group. ‘Now more than ever, we believe in the power of nature to heal and this starts in the home.”

 

 

Grab a pina colada and check out some photographs of HDC’s latest projects!

 


 

 

The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) is one of many organizations in Philadelphia that is dedicated to carrying on the centuries-old tradition of community gardening that is germane to our region. In fact, Quaker John Bartram established his garden along the banks of the Schuylkill River in what is now Southwest Philadelphia all the way back in 1728! Established in 1827 (and gaining on its 200th year in existence), PHS continues to believe in the power of horticulture to make positive social and environmental change — and that is exactly what it is doing with its Community Gardens program. PHS provides 135 Philadelphia-area community gardens with resources, education, access to capital improvements, and policy advocacy.

Q: Justin, what feeds your passion for community gardening?
A: At PHS, we say that community gardens increase access to fresh produce while strengthening social connections between neighbors. All of this is true, but I’ve seen first-hand that the impact of growing your own food is much deeper. Community gardens serve as a means to preserve culture and connect people to their ancestral roots. Depending upon the neighborhood, you’ll find people growing collard greens & black eye peas or chili peppers and bitter melon. It’s really a matter of food sovereignty. Supporting people to grow the food they enjoy is what drives me.

 

 

Q: Share with us a particular success story.
A: The Growing Home Garden in South Philly, a partnership between PHS, Neighborhood Gardens Trust and SEAMAAC, is an example of a community garden that has truly elevated the quality of life for the people of the neighborhood. It was created in 2010 to improve the diets of Burmese and Bhutanese refugees who live there by providing nutritious produce indigenous to their ethnic backgrounds. PHS worked with the gardeners to find seeds for varieties of vegetables and herbs native to their cuisine but were difficult to find locally. Ten years later, the garden has become a therapeutic outdoor space for over 100 refugees to build community and reconnect with their agricultural roots. The Neighborhood Gardens Trust – which partners with PHS to preserve public land for non-commercial use — helped to permanently preserve the garden in 2014.

 

 

Q: How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your mission and what can we do to help?
A: COVID-19 has exposed the fragility of our food system. It has also created an incredible opportunity for community gardeners to dig in, plant more crops and meaningfully share their harvest with their neighbors. This year, PHS created a gardening initiative called Harvest 2020, which is focused on addressing hunger and food insecurity challenges in Philadelphia. PHS has put all the pieces in place for people to become growers on their own, to grow and share their food in their community or through a network of hunger relief organizations, or to make a donation to help in the effort. Any way that someone chooses to participate will help advance our harvest. You can learn more here.

 


 

 

Of course, we couldn’t conclude without sharing a garden-inspired recipe. So, we turned to Rich Landau, chef and co-owner of Vedge Restaurant.

 

 

ROASTED ASPARAGUS & HAZELNUT PICADA
Picada is one of Spain’s great sauces. It can be creamy like tahini or coarse and crumbly, like our version here. We use hazelnuts, but substitute almonds if you prefer. For the asparagus spears, I recommend the French technique of peeling the bottom one-third in order to utilize the whole vegetable. (If you prefer to cut off the bottoms, be sure to save them for vegetable stock.) Keep in mind that asparagus does a significant amount of carryover cooking once removed from the heat, so always pull it out while it’s still bright green to account for that extra “cooking.”

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves 4 to 6

¼ cup stale bread cubes
¼ cup shelled, skinned unsalted hazelnuts
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
2 bunches asparagus, bottom one-third trimmed with a peeler to achieve uniform thickness (about 2 pounds)

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Toss the bread cubes and hazelnuts in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, the garlic, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and ½ teaspoon of the pepper. Transfer the mixture to a sheet pan and roast until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss with the thyme. Cool slightly before transferring to a food processor. Pulse into a crumble.

Meanwhile, toss the asparagus in a large bowl with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper. Transfer to a sheet pan and roast until bright green and lightly crinkled, about 4 minutes for pencil-thin asparagus or up to 10 minutes for jumbo spears.

Serve the asparagus immediately with the picada sprinkled on top.

 

 

Recipe from Vedge: 100 Plates Large and Small That Redefine Vegetable Cooking, copyright © Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, 2013.

Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available wherever books are soldtheexperimentpublishing.com

Rich Landau headshot photographed by Jason Varney.

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