Hokus Crocus adorn the Library Park gardens and usher in spring.
At the end of October 2020, a small group of Library Park aficionados, including FOSEL founder Marleen Nienhuis and dedicated volunteers Chris Fagg and Walter Newman, chased away the pandemic and election-season blues by taking planting tools and 3,000 bulbs to Library Park. Buffeted by cold weather, rain, high winds and three inches of the season’s first snow, they raked the leaves, removed the fallen branches, dug holes and planted until the last bulb was covered. As we head into spring, their work is paying off. The crocuses, daffodils, and tulips are in full bloom and the grape hyacinth are beginning to peek through. Stroll by the Library and have a look for yourself!
Celebrating getting the last bulb into the ground in the fall
The new tradition of planting thousands of spring bulbs in Library Park began in the fall of 2018, when FOSEL learned that City funding for the Park’s re-design would exclude plantings. Rather than leave the Park’s garden with nothing to show for the makeover, FOSEL brought in the first round of plantings that fall and watched them bloom profusely in the spring of 2019. During that 2019 summer, with the help of South End State Reps., Jon Santiago and Aaron Michlewitz, FOSEL secured $25,000 for soil improvement, perennials, an irrigation system and new low-level interior fencing as well as exterior fence repair.
Big Up tulip blend in bloom
Another 3,000 bulbs were ordered and placed in the ground in the fall of 2019, which in 2020 provided much appreciated visual relief from the gloom of the pandemic that forced many South Enders to stay close to their homes. And now once again, as a result of the hard work last fall, the Park has come alive with color and cheer, a harbinger of hope after a long and difficult year.
Spanish Bluebells are expected to bloom in June.