I Wonder Garden 2024 Site Plan

Tucked away at the edge of a parking lot behind a shuttered school is one of Canton’s best-kept secrets. The I Wonder Garden is a 7,000 sq. ft. urban oasis run by community volunteers. Launched in 2013 with the support of the Chesapeake Bay Trust and Blue Water Baltimore, the I Wonder Garden helps keep our urban landscape a little greener and filters stormwater run-off to keep the harbor cleaner.

Once a parking lot, the hundreds of plants that replaced 7,000 sq ft of impervious surface now filter about 130,000 gallons of stormwater each year before it enters the Baltimore Harbor. Moreover, the garden removes greenhouse gas pollution from the air and offsets the urban heat island effect. It is also an Audubon Bird-Friendly Habitat and part of the Rain Gardens for the Bay Campaign.

The garden is volunteer-run under the supervision of the Canton Community Association with an MOU with Baltimore City.  While the site has seen much progress in the last few years, 2024 is bringing many upgrades. The team of volunteers is putting a new site plan into place to support the community garden plots and the native perennial plantings to provide a bird, bee, and butterfly habitat.

The proposed site plan was designed by Canton neighbor and landscape architect Cherisse Otis with input from CCA Sustainability Chair and I Wonder volunteer Stephen Washington, along with several past and present gardeners. The proposed design balances Canton’s need for publicly accessible green space, an organized community garden, and ecological restoration. Here are several highlights.

PUBLIC SPACE
The area earmarked as a Public Garden has been open to the public since the garden’s initial installation in 2013 and consisted of meandering paths through a seeded native meadow. The downside of a seeded meadow that does not have consistent management during the first few years of establishment is that it can look unkempt and weed species can encroach, just as the more dominant native species, like asters and goldenrods, crowd out the more diminutive species in the seed mix. 

To give the garden a well-tended and more manicured appearance over the past few years, especially during the height of the pandemic when garden plots became highly sought after, the meadow was mowed down, and attention has been given to maintaining clean perimeter edges, along pathways and fence lines. The new site plan allows for continual community access to the garden, clearly defining a central lawn area for folks to congregate with moveable furnishings amidst neat perimeter gardens. 

Please note: since this is not a City park nor a dog park, visitors are asked to be respectful and “pack it in, pack it out” after humans and animals alike, as there are no garbage receptacles here monitored by DPW.  Yes, this means doggie bags.

POLLINATOR PLANTINGS
The plantings proposed will be native species of lower-growing perennials and ornamental grasses, installed in swaths that make them identifiable from any rogue weeds. The planting beds will be lined with low post-and-rope fencing to delineate them from the mown lawn area so that maintenance practices can be tailored to distinct zones. Be on the lookout for beautiful blooms such as purple coneflower, milkweed, bluestar, and little bluestem, as pictured in the palette below, for multiple-season interest!

RAIN GARDEN
The area beneath the existing birch tree along the stairs was originally slated to be a rain garden in the 2012 design and is intended to be restored. A rain garden is a shallow depression in the land that retains rainwater during a big storm but allows it to infiltrate into the soil profile below within 1-2 days. Rain gardens do not contain standing water like ponds and are fully planted with species (also in the plant palette above) that can tolerate periods of inundation and periods of drought, with deep roots to absorb rainwater. This will visually blend in with the pollinator plantings around the lawn.

FENCED COMMUNITY GARDEN PLOTS
The garden has 21 community plots typically used to grow vegetables. To secure the plots, Stephen is working to install decorative metal fencing which will secure and divide the community garden plots from the public area. These plots can be rented by neighbors. To inquire about availability, email https://iwondergarden.squarespace.com/join. The fenced area also houses a composting system and cisterns to provide mulch and water for the gardeners. Shoutout to Tim Dundorf for overseeing the composting zone. In the fall of 2024 or early 2025, the plots will be reconfigured to fit a greater number allowing more neighbors to garden. At that time, the team will design and hope to install pathways between the plots which will require less maintenance.

EQUIPMENT/STORAGE
In Spring 2024, I Wonder Garden received a generous donation from Hampstead Hill Academy of equipment, sheds, and benches. Now we will be able to safely store the mower, tools, and other materials necessary to maintain the garden. The benches will provide areas of respite for both our gardeners and neighbors who are visiting the public area.

ENHANCED ENTRANCE
The new site plan calls for shifting the generous entranceway from the southeast/compost corner to the of the lot, opening directly onto the public lawn. A decorative, covered structure and a bulletin board will be incorporated to share community news. The design for the new entrance has not been completed yet and will most likely be contingent upon getting more grant funding in 2025.

EDUCATION / SIGNAGE
There will be new signage to share information about the native plantings and the ecological importance of the garden. Our goal is to not only create a beautiful and useful space but educate our community about the urgent need for green infrastructure and resilient, healing outdoor spaces.

CANTON COMPOST INITIATIVE
There is a food scraps drop-off site at the SE corner of the garden. The containers are managed via paid contract with Veteran Compost. Previously funded by a grant from Healthy Harbor that has now ended, we need to find new funding for the 2nd half of $2024 and the future.

GRANT FUNDING
We received a $3500 greening grant from Healthy Harbor for improvements at the garden that needs to be spent in 2024. The funds are currently earmarked to purchase plants, to pay for supplies for the upgrades like the pathways, new signage, and more. To reach our full goals, we know we’ll need more funding so if anyone would like to volunteer to help write grant applications, please email info@CantonCommunity.com.

GARDEN HISTORY
Important to the new design of the I Wonder Garden is understanding how it came to be. Please click the link to learn more about the very cool story about the school kids, teachers, and organizations that had a dream and brought it to life! https://bluewaterbaltimore.org/blog/unpaving-paradise-in-a-parking-lot/

To learn more or to volunteer, please email info@CantonCommunity.org.

***Thank you to all our volunteers past and present who bring I Wonder to life! ***