Friends of Montclair Library

Volunteers hard at work clearing the garden, November 16, 2013.

Branch Manager Lynne Cutler sent this report about the status of Montclair Library’s community garden project:

Firstly, I  want to thank all of you for your interest in and support of the Montclair Library’s community garden!

Our very first step toward turning the back yard into a garden was to have three tons of construction rubble hauled away by Delgado Hauling.  Our Friends of Montclair Library paid for that.  The City established two hose outlets for watering.

Then, we had two gardening days back in November, and around ten volunteers showed up each day. Everyone worked really  hard!  Tenacious vines were uprooted, more small rubble  cleared (including a car muffler and a small animal skull),  a dead plum tree was cut down.  A few plants were put into the ground, such as English Laurels.

We are blessed with many people amongst our group who have gardening knowledge, including  the Hillside Gardeners (who come once a month to do the library landscaping); neighbors; a landscaper; and people from the Merritt College horticultural program.

This month, we were offered free trees via the Sierra Club.  An Oakland non-profit called “Urban Biofilter” had  garnered a commitment of 500 trees for Oakland from a Sacramento-based group that is funneling US Forest Service urban tree program money into local urban areas.  I chose five: two Eastern Redbuds, one Purple Leaf Plum, one Crape Myrtle, and one Red Horsechestnut. The Sierra Club tree team will even plant them for us.

We were also  just approved as a site for the City of Oakland Adopt-A-Spot program. We will be receiving advice from them, tools, plants, and other support as we progress.

Lynne is planning two more community gardening days in the Spring – stay tuned for details.