A crowd gathered recently at Sunflower Farm at Pennypack, 4403 Megargee St. in Holmesburg, for the dedication of the Freedom and Liberty mural, created by artist John Zerbe.
Sunflower Farm is operated by Heroic Gardens, a mental health nonprofit dedicated to helping military veterans and their families experience the healing power of plants and nature.
Collie Turner founded the nonprofit in 2018 and serves as executive director.
Turner described Sunflower Farm as a place to come to watch birds, read a book, take home fresh food or pick a sunflower. She said the Freedom and Liberty mural is a great addition. Mural pieces are attached, not to a wall, but to the perimeter fencing of the property.
“There is no traditional building or traditional mural,” she said.
Jane Golden, the retiring longtime executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia, led a ceremony that included Zerbe, Turner, Tacony LAB Community Art Center program manager Barb Baur, City Councilman Mike Driscoll, state Sen. Joe Picozzi and state Rep. Pat Gallagher. Dennis Fink, a veteran, provided hoagies and potato chips and presented a check to Heroic Gardens for $2,500 for the purchase of a new lawnmover.
A ribbon cutting was canceled due to the heavy rains on Aug. 7.
Golden was glad to see Freedom and Liberty join the 4,400 works of art in Philadelphia.
“Art ignites change and so does horticulture,” she said.
Golden was impressed during her first visit to Sunflower Farm and her introduction to Heroic Gardens.
“This is an amazing organization,” she said. “I want spaces like this everywhere.”
Picozzi, too, had high praise for Sunflower Farm after walking the grounds.
“It feels magical, it really does,” he said.
Driscoll announced that Tacony LAB, which has an office at 6918 Torresdale Ave., will be expanding to the Neighborhood Community Action Center building at 7374 Edmund St.
The Megargee Street site is the former Liddonfield Homes housing project, which was demolished in 2010 after residents had moved out. The 32-acre site is now owned by NewCourtland, a health, housing and social services agency. An InnovAge Living Independently For Elders (LIFE) center opened in 2020.
NewCourtland provided an acre of ground for Heroic Gardens, which planted sunflowers in December 2024. Today, Sunflower Farm is open to veterans and the community to take part in hands-on therapeutic programs and grow food in raised beds. In July, cannabis company Trulieve donated a refrigerator to Sunflower Farm. The refrigerator is filled with vegetables and herbs, available to veterans and the community. Sunflower Farm is also open every Saturday at 8 a.m. for yoga. ••
