Community Gardens at IPFW Bloom and Grow

Near Crescent and Coliseum Boulevards in Fort Wayne is the great pedestrian bridge that is passage for students as they walk to campus from student housing. It had been named for a patron, but now the bridge is again unnamed. Tucked under it nearly, on the top of a little hill is the Allen County, Indiana Cooperative Extension Office, in a grassy corner meadow on the IPFW campus.

There you will find the IPFW Community Gardens, which have been planned, built, maintained and manned by trained gardening volunteers. Purdue Master Gardeners go through intensive training to gain the skills needed to do the work that they do here. A beautiful variety of gardens are laid out. Classic English country gardens, raised vegetable and flower beds, ornamental grasses are here for all to see.

As a visitor, one can walk and wander all through these lovely gardens, on the paths laid out. Signage helps a person identify flowers and plants. Different themes abound, and different styles and biomes of plants are carefully tended here.

The Allen County and Purdue Master Gardeners become volunteer leaders after their training. Participants do many kinds of community service to support their passion for their craft. They volunteer to answer phones at a call center, and respond to questions online as well. They conduct community seminars and participate in teaching programs for children.

Applications for the training program are available online. Volunteers can attend scheduled classes regularly. Plant science, nutrition and soil are topics in early sessions. Students go on to cover insects, diseases and weeds in the next few weeks. The intensive lessons also include vegetable gardening, herbs, caring for roses, and annuals and periennials. All this preparation really shows in what they accomplish at the community gardens.

I remember seeing lovely Indiana plants there too - tall sunflowers and corn stalks, and home-grown, mouth-watering tomatoes. The cheerful zinnias, the adorable potting sheds and garden houses were charming. Hydrangeas, roses, petunias - a plethora of pansies were all a delight. I found myself being drawn back and back to visit. The smells, the wind chimes, so pleasant to meander through. I appreciate all the work done there. The gardens are outdoor and seasonal, so be prepared and go at the right times of year for best viewing.

When Summer Days Fall into Autumn

The lone grebe is back, fishing by himself across the pond. He's a loner. Is he a happy bachelor, or a sad one? I don't know, but he seems content.

The swallows circle, catching mosquitos in the air. They dip, bank and dive, turning on a dime.

Wild turkeys cross the country roads. A flock of seven or eight grazes slowly as cows do: plump, sturdy and social. I'm drawn to them - I want to get out and follow on foot.

The overcast sky is ponderous and oppressive. The reflecting water is not blue, but the color of the mirror it is - dull grey: new steel/car bumper grey. The wind has changed, and blows from an uncommon direction.

One tiny sugar maple has transformed itself into an orange streak among the greens and dull wheat browns.

An old wooden wire spool sits bare and waiting, as if a giant seamstress had dropped it from the heavens while sewing. I'm going to paint it and make it into an outdoor table.

Bones ache and cold seeps up through the floor into my feet. Blankets come out and we walk around the house draped like native Americans.

I haul the window air conditioning unit out by myself. It's filled with spiders, webs and eggs: a perfect home for them. I take a Q-tip, wind it around the lot and drop the whole cotton-candy mess out the open window. I struggle to lift, then carry the heavy contraption, thinking of Atlas holding the earth. A collection of water runs out of it onto the bed.

Going back to close the window, I see a lone, large garden spider hiding flattened in a corner. If I close the window, it will crush her.

I find a pencil to shepherd her out of the jamb. Instead of climbing out the open window, she runs back and forth from one end of the trough to the other. I finally get my tool under the large spider, launch it through the opening and close the window. Fall begins.