History

The history of this green space is still being collected, so please check back to see the story grow!

A resident of the neighborhood who grew up on nearby Devon St. remembers the current garden space as a wooded lot. She recalls that men from Devon St. had a card table set up and would play cards for hours. Another source added, “The garden was cultivated by a group of old Italian men who had a picnic table down there and would meet to play cards and tend to the garden.” At the time the garden was in a different place on the property.

There is ton before then and alot between then and now, but…

In 1967, Werner Fellner purchased a portion of the property and sometime in the 90s his son and son’s wife purchased the portion that encompasses the community garden. It seems at some point along the way the wooded lot transitioned to be an open space and since then has been informally used for gardening by different groups.

These photos are from 2009 when Weavers Way Farm began using the space for some crops. It seems that Weavers Way used the space from 2009-2011.

Some of the farmers involved with the project recalled that volunteers from the Co-op helped to clear the land which was “pretty overgrown and full of rubbish when we got there”. The common recollection is that they grew peppers one season and leeks another, and possibly potatoes one year.

In 2012, Werner’s Community Garden was established by members of nearby Gabbie’s Garden to make room for a growing list of interested gardeners.

The East Mt. Airy Community Garden Network consists of two gardens, Werner’s Garden near Fred’s Motors on Mt. Airy Avenue and Gabbie’s Garden near the intersection of Mt. Airy and Chew Avenues. In 2011, the group of gardeners who helped establish both these gardens created a Facebook group. Photos from the Facebook page show the beginnings of both community gardens.

Werner’s Garden is roughly 100×100 ft. or, a 1/4 acre. The initial tilling and layout established 40 garden plots sized approximately 3×15′. The group constructed a wooden pallet structure to collect garden waste for composting, and water was (and is) generously supplied by the property owner.

For many years both Werner’s and it’s nearby sister garden, Gabbie’s, were managed by a vibrant resident of Mt. Airy. Under her leadership and with the support of the dedicated members, both gardens grew produce that they donated to various places in the neighborhood and in greater Philadelphia. Over the years, Werner’s has seen additions of raspberry, blackberry and strawberry patches, as well as 4 grape vines and a fig tree.

In 2019, under new leadership, Werner’s rejoined the PHS City Harvest program which provides us invaluable support towards our mission to donate. City Harvest provides seedlings, seeds, cover crop, row cover, stakes, and other materials integral to growing. Their support enables us to grow and donate produce weekly during the growing season to Face to Face in Germantown. Face to Face uses our produce for hot meals and also raw food distributions. In 2020 and 2021 we donated approximately 1800 lbs of produce. The scale of donation that we manage is possible because of City Harvest and the outstanding group of gardeners that contribute their hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm.

Currently we have 35 garden plots, 15 of which are used for donation crops. There is an area where we collect garden waste and incorporate horse manure and straw to make hot compost that eventually goes back to the beds. The shed downspout runs into two rain barrels which we use for watering beds. A large perennial bed hosts flowers and herbs near the shed and there is an annual cut-flower bed that adds explosive color to the hillside.