Wed, Oct 15 2008
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Published August 01, 2008 01:47 pm - Marilyn Wylie took her love for gardening and spread the joy of all things green in her community through a kindness garden, located at the Frisco Greenway Trail entrance off of St. Louis Avenue. Kindness in full bloom: Community garden still ‘a work in progress’ By Melissa Dunson mdunson@joplinglobe.com Seven years ago, Marilyn Wylie planted a seed that hasn’t quit growing. The Joplin resident took her love for gardening and spread the joy of all things green in her community through a kindness garden, located at the Frisco Greenway Trail entrance off of St. Louis Avenue. The garden started as a random act of kindness penny drive organized by her church, Unity Church of Joplin, 2902 E. 20th St. The group raised $200, and Wylie calls it her seed money for what came next. “I had this idea,” Wylie said. “I wanted a place that people could just sit. I wanted to make a beautiful corner for people to enjoy.” After working with the Ozark Trails Coalition, Wylie got the OK to start planting flowers, trees and bushes in a 50-foot by 50-foot area just north of the trail entrance. The plants came from Wylie’s own garden, her friends’ yards and local nursery donations. Now, Wylie said she shows up to work at the garden some Saturday mornings and occasionally finds plants dropped off anonymously in the shade for her to use. For years, Wylie’s only gardening experience came from her own back yard. She grew up following her father around a large vegetable garden in Neosho. But after she started the kindness garden, she attended the University of Missouri Extension’s Master Gardener program. Wylie completed the program and her time at the garden serves as her volunteer project each year. “I knew a lot about local native plants when we put them here, but I’ve learned a lot more since then,” she said. The process has been trial and error, she said. Some plants lived, others died, but Wylie just kept trying different combinations. The garden is now organized into several different areas. There are a couple different stepping stone pathways, a section of lilies, one of irises, a bush garden and a large, flat stone brought in for sitting on. Some of the flowers in the garden are echinacea, brown-eyed Susan, hardy hibiscus, tansy, yucca, liatris and canna. Some of the bushes include a red bud tree, viburnum, lilac, butterfly bushes, crepe myrtle and rose of Sharon. Wylie’s goal is to have something blooming all the time from early spring to late fall. Most Saturdays, Wylie and her husband, Mike, are at the garden. They till the ground, pull weeds and re-lay dirt and rock. All the work is done by volunteers — mostly Wylie and her husband — but also a small group of volunteers from the church who come out twice a year for major projects. “It’s always a work in progress,” she said. The group has tried to stay true to the garden’s natural surroundings. All of the rock lining the various flower beds and marking the walkways came from the surrounding hillside during some construction projects. And the wood that serves as mulch for the flower beds came from an old tree that used to be on the church’s property. She’s brought in ants and ladybugs into the garden from other nearby spots to try and create a small eco-system. She said the insects have attracted lizards and frogs to the garden and made it a haven for all things living. 
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