For decades, the Oakford Street garden has quietly stood as a testament to persistence, care, and community spirit. At the heart of it all is its longtime coordinator and manager Ms. Lydia Wilkins, who has dedicated years to ensuring the space remained a garden, even as the neighborhood around it changed. For Ms. Lydia, garden preservation means something simple but powerful, security. “It means we are safe,” she explains.
This garden in the Grays Ferry neighborhood was established in the 1980s, with support from the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS). One memory that stands out vividly for Ms. Lydia is a planting day, when neighbors came together to bring the garden to life. “I barbecued for the workers that day while they planted the garden,” she recalls. It’s a moment that set the tone for years of connection and shared experiences.
For many years, this garden, located on three lots on the 2700 block of Oakford Street, served as a joyful gathering place for neighbors and a safe play garden for kids in a neighborhood with limited access to green space. The garden was a backdrop for countless memories. “There’s no space for quiet time, peace, and Mother Nature,” Ms. Lydia says, describing the Grays Ferry neighborhood. Her garden helped to fill that gap, providing not just greenery, but a sense of belonging.
That’s when the neighbors first learned about and connected with NGT. NGT worked with the gardeners and Council President Kenyatta Johnson to secure the city’s support for the preservation of the remaining two lots which were owned by the Philadelphia Land Bank. This month, NGT went to settlement, acquiring “The Miracle on Oakford Street”, permanently preserving this precious land for the community.
Now that the garden is safeguarded, it is entering a new chapter, one filled with hope and possibility. Ms. Lydia and other neighbors envision a revitalized green space where people can gather, relax, and reconnect. “It will be a place to sit and enjoy nature, a place to barbecue, and just give thanks for having a place in our community to come together,” she says.
Last fall, Sprouts Farmers Market lent a helping hand to at a garden workday organized with NGT and PHS. Together with the gardeners, they cleared weeds and rubble, built new raised planting beds, and filled them with soil and perennial plants.
Thanks to years of dedication and a successful preservation effort, this garden will remain what it has always been, a place for community resilience, connection, and care.