Heroic Gardens volunteers spent four hours in the bitter cold of Dec. 7 laying cardboard, compost and bunches of leaves – so-called lasagna gardening – on an acre of ground in Holmesburg
They’ll be back when the weather warms in the spring to plant sunflowers.
The site is the former Liddonfield Homes housing project, near Torresdale Avenue and Megargee Street in Holmesburg and now owned by NewCourtland, a health, housing and social services agency.
The last Liddonfield residents moved out in 2010, and the project was demolished later that year.
Since then, the 32-acre site has remained largely vacant, except for an InnovAge Living Independently For Elders (LIFE) center that opened in 2020.
That leaves plenty of space for Heroic Gardens, a mental health nonprofit dedicated to supporting veterans through the power of horticulture. Founded in 2018 by Collie Turner, Heroic Gardens creates opportunities for veterans to reconnect with nature as a pathway to healing, emotional wellness and purpose.
Thanks to NewCourtland making the space available, Heroic Gardens hopes to ultimately grow sunflowers and produce that would be available to the community.
“It’s already a beautiful property,” Turner said. “We want people to be able to embrace growing their own food.”
The day included hot drinks, snacks, an appearance by state Rep. Joe Hohenstein and a DJ, who took requests and played songs such as In the Navy in keeping with the theme of helping veterans.
The leaves were delivered by Horsham Township, the cardboard donated by Rhode Island-based Ocean State Job Lot and 270 cubic yards of compost supplied by Quakertown-based Oldcastle Lawn & Garden.
“That’s a lot of mulch,” Turner said.
While Heroic Gardens is in the early stages of its work, the organization is impressed with its new neighbors in Holmesburg.
“We want to be a part of that community,” Turner said. ••
