Gardens galore on display in this year’s tour with South Philly Food Co-op
Tickets have gone on sale for the South Philly Food Co-op‘s fourth annual South Philly Garden Tour, which is the biggest fundraiser of the year for everyone’s favorite theoretical grocery store.
And before you ask, yes, they are actively seeking a retail space now that they have surpassed the 600-member threshold. But back to peeping into your neighbors’ coolest backyards.
The self-guided tour, on Saturday, Sept. 6 from 1 to 4 p.m. (rain date Sept. 7), will include at least 16 gardens between 2nd to 10th, Fitzwater and Moore streets. An after-party will be held at The Industry at Moyamensing and Reed.
Stops on this year’s tour include:
- A woman who started gardening in 1999 when she bought her home on Ellsworth Street that happened to have ample backyard space, and has since become a professional gardener
- The only Japanese tea garden in South Philly
- A garden that’s been tilled by the same family for five generations
- A gardener whose dog (trained to detect ovarian cancer) has been digging up her in-ground vegetables, so she converted most of her huge garden to containers
- East Passyunk Crossing Gardens, still in development and making plans to work with students and local refugee populations
- The Wishing Well, which grows its own herbs for specialty cocktails
- A community garden featuring several Isaiah Zagar murals
Last year’s tour raised $9,600 for the Co-op. So to help make this place a reality (sooner than you might think, but, granted, not as quickly as you’d hoped), buy your $20 tickets here. For more info about the Co-op, click here.
Not sure why the cut off is at Moore St. There is still plenty of S. Philly beyond that. I live only a few blocks further south and would’ve loved to have been a participating garden.
Each year, the tour focuses on a different neighborhood of South Philly. Last year, we went from Washington to Snyder, 10th to 16th. We found that by honing in on a specific area it made for a better tour experience. In our early years, we tried to cover ALL of South Philly and many gardens were missed if they were on the outskirts.
If you want send us your info so we can look to include you in next year’s tour, (or if you are super close to our current boundaries for this year) we’d be happy to have you! Email us at events@Southphillyfoodcoop.org
Thanks for your interest!
UPDATE: We’re up to 20 (!) gardens now! Get your ticket today!
Another UPDATE! Tickets are now on sale at Urban Jungle, Occasionette, The Wishing Well and Koliyan/Peddler Coffee. Buy your tickets in-person at these locations to avoid the very modest internet handling fee. $20 in advance, $25 on the day of the Tour (9/6). Thanks to all of these locations who also happen to be sponsors of the Tour! When you get your ticket… consider picking up some garden supplies, handmade gifts, a beer, Cambodian food or nano-scale roasted coffee!