Volunteer Community Gardeners Propagate Joy

Rapunzel in the castle, stranded from a Prince Charming rescue by a thicket of shrubbery — that is a dilemma faced by many residents who have cultivated a garden around their homes. But what happens when residents find themselves unsteady or incapable of deadheading the roses?

An article in the weekly announcements was the stimulus for a written note to a box number on campus recently. It offered the services of volunteer gardeners, coordinated by the landscaping committee chair, Walt Suder.

Almost immediately, there was a phone call from Walt, arranging a reconnoitering appointment to determine the size of the project and how best to address the needs. The appointment was followed by a phone call arranging for two volunteer gardeners, John and Sally Reither, to come with tools that would be sufficient (we thought) to tame the problem.

But the shrub that prevented access to the back garden at our residence was almost twenty years old, a once-tiny original-to-the-property bush that had become a deterrent and a menace to safety for a resident who wanted to maintain an exit. So “big guns” were summoned. Promptly, Jerry Hedrick, an avid gardener himself, arrived with his electric saw and an extension cord.

Soon the task was completed as Walt stood by with a shovel in hand to complete the work. Once again, I have a path from the back door of the porch to a path cleared of branches and overgrowth. Once again I can reach the roses planted so lovingly in the days when I was a more capable gardener.

Thank you, volunteer gardeners of the PVE Landscape Committee. May you continue your work of beautifying the private gardens that make PVE such a lovely community in which to live.