The Bolton Hill Garden Club Supports
Contee-Parago Triangle
Cylburn Arboretum
Eutaw Place Median
Fitzgerald Park
Lion Park
Mount Royal Median
Park Avenue Median
Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens
Shelia’s Garden
Sumpter Park
Washington Monument Christmas Decorations
Baltimore City Farms Druid Hill Park and Hampden
The city farm plots provide space and camaraderie to members who want to grow more than their home gardens allow. Members Joan Giesemann, Mary Consugar and Ellen Joyce, Jeremy Walston, Coleen McCarty, John Pohlemus, and Robin Roszel have garden plots in Druid Hill Park. Vivian Maine and Coleen McCarty have plots in Hampden. This is the ideal place to grow seasonal vegetables and the flowers. The program is operated by Baltimore City’s Dept. of Recreation and Parks. Our club member Coleen McCarty is the City Farms Coordinator.
Eutaw Place Medians
The Eutaw Place medians extend along the middle of Eutaw Place from Dolphin Street to North Avenue. The Francis Scott Key Monument is in the first median and was restored with funds from the 1990 Maryland House & Garden Pilgrimage in Bolton Hill. In the 1400 block, there are two cast iron garden urns and the 125 year old Gunther Fountain also restored using funds from the 1990 Pilgrimage. Sara and Marvin Bingham plant and maintain this section of the park. Club members Mary Consugar, Ellen Joyce, Carlo Van Grieken, Christian Roth, Brian Causey and Karen Compton, along with other Eutaw Place neighbors, have restored the medians in the 1800 and 1900 blocks and maintain them up to the North Avenue boundary, using funds given by the club for plantings and tools. The fountain in the 1800 block median was installed in 2009
Family and Children’s Services Memorial Garden
Members assist the staff of the Family and Children’s Services of Central Maryland to plant and maintain additional perennials and shrubs in their Memorial Garden at Park Avenue. Bobbi Hahn, Robin Roszel, John Pohlemus, along with other club members have been active in ensuring this green oasis in the neighborhood is maintained.
John St. Park, 1300 Block of John Street
In 1952, residents of the 1300 block of John Street in Bolton Hill, through the formation of a “Residential Protective Association” convinced the city to block off their busy street and create the John Street Park. This effort was catalyzed in part because of potential plans to drive an on/off ramp from the Jones Falls Expressway directly through John St, further cutting historical and beautiful Bolton Hill into small isolated islands surrounded by expressways. Funding was raised to convert part of the existing sidewalk into garden elements while keeping a through-street for emergency vehicle access. The agreement to convert the John Street block to a park was based on an understanding with the City of Baltimore that the 1300 block residents would be responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the park; an agreement which continues to this day. When the park was dedicated in September 1955, articles appeared in newspapers across the nation highlighting the actions of ordinary citizens to work with government to create green space in urban communities. In September 2005, the John Street Park was rededicated for its 50th Anniversary after renovation and the addition of park benches and a fountain.
BHGC members Christine Lambert, Marc Pentino, Ron Gray and Maria Wawer, along with many other dedicated neighbors (a special thanks to Monica and David Lavorgna, and Kent Smith), maintain the fountain and flower beds, have installed additional benches, and conduct the annual “Pumpkin Glow” for kids of all ages at Halloween. Thank you also to the many BH contributors to the John St Park, including the BHGC.
Mt. Royal Avenue, 1400/1500 Blocks
Situated between Mt. Royal Avenue and the Mt. Royal Service Road, and once maintained by past club president, the late Shelia Bittner-Schmitt, the median contains to be maintained by a joint effort between MICA and The Bolton Hill Garden Club.
Shelia’s Garden, 1400 Block of Mount Royal Ave
This herb and perennial garden is contained within a red granite base located on the 1400 Block of Mount Royal Avenue, a red granite bench memorializing Shelia Bittner-Schmitt sits facing the garden. Coleen McCarty, her husband Art Hall and Vivian Maine, maintained and protected the garden for many years. Members and neighbors are invited to help in the garden work and share in the harvest of herbs
Sumpter Park Bocce Court
Club members Mary Consugar and Ellen Joyce were instrumental in working with Baltimore city and MRIA to install a grass bocce court in the northeast corner of Sumpter Park. We look forward to playing with our neighbors at the Sumpter Park Potluck in June.
Green Space Grants
In addition to the support given to club members who volunteer their efforts in public green spaces, the club also gives grants to residents involved in Bolton Hill greening projects. The funds are derived from the various fund raising events and distributed by a club committee. Grants are awarded for the planting and maintenance of neighborhood parks, medians and tree wells.