Interview. Carla Puppin and Jon Snyder. Bel Arbor Community Garden
Subject
Bel Arbor Community Garden (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Community gardens -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
Neighborhood Gardens Trust (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Philadelphia Green (Program)
Kimball Street Community Garden (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Bel Arbor Tree Farm (Philadelphia, Pa.)
Description
Interview with Carla Puppin and Jon Snyder, founding gardeners at Bel Arbor Community Garden and garden record-keepers, on-site at the garden. The interview discusses Puppin and Snyder's separate backgrounds in throughout the Midwest and their first forays into gardening in youth. The gardeners discuss how they each came to the Bella Vista neighborhood and the creation of Kimball Street Community Garden and Bel Arbor tree farm, the two organizations that became Bel Arbor Community Garden, in 1994.
Puppin and Snyder describe the combination of their organizations and their transition into preservation by the Neighborhood Gardens Association (now the Neighborhood Gardens Trust) in 1999. The interviewees describe the garden's planning process, including a plan in 1996. Puppin and Snyder also explain how they came to serve as the garden's archivist and photographer/videographer, respectively, and their organization of garden documents. In addition, John Snyder describes his role as water manager for the garden and provides a description of several historic flyers, including ones from 1994 and 2000. He describes the creation of the garden's website. Included is a description of how Bel Arbor Community Garden became a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Keystone Garden with the help of Eileen Gallagher.
The gardeners discuss the history of the area as a gardening space, including an 1820 public botanical garden of PHS founding member Alexander Parker. The interview includes a brief tour of the garden from the garden's gazebo (pictured looking southeast from the garden's north), as well as a look at the garden's yearly traditions like barbecue. The interview concludes with Puppin and Snyder's reflections on the garden's future, including plans for more planting around Christ's United Presbyterian Church, challenges with development, and hopes for future generations of gardeners.
Puppin and Snyder describe the combination of their organizations and their transition into preservation by the Neighborhood Gardens Association (now the Neighborhood Gardens Trust) in 1999. The interviewees describe the garden's planning process, including a plan in 1996. Puppin and Snyder also explain how they came to serve as the garden's archivist and photographer/videographer, respectively, and their organization of garden documents. In addition, John Snyder describes his role as water manager for the garden and provides a description of several historic flyers, including ones from 1994 and 2000. He describes the creation of the garden's website. Included is a description of how Bel Arbor Community Garden became a Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Keystone Garden with the help of Eileen Gallagher.
The gardeners discuss the history of the area as a gardening space, including an 1820 public botanical garden of PHS founding member Alexander Parker. The interview includes a brief tour of the garden from the garden's gazebo (pictured looking southeast from the garden's north), as well as a look at the garden's yearly traditions like barbecue. The interview concludes with Puppin and Snyder's reflections on the garden's future, including plans for more planting around Christ's United Presbyterian Church, challenges with development, and hopes for future generations of gardeners.
Date
2022
Coverage
Philadelphia (Pa.)
Interviewer
Makuc, Joseph
Interviewee
Puppin, Carla Maria, 1953-
Snyder, Jon
Collection
Citation
“Interview. Carla Puppin and Jon Snyder. Bel Arbor Community Garden,” Philadelphia Community Gardens Memory Collection, accessed April 25, 2024, https://phillycommunitygardensmemory.omeka.net/items/show/65.
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