In recent years, the exchange has taken place in the Morganti Garden, but this year Durant-Kenrick’s house and grounds offered more capacity. About 150 people showed up, Morganti said, and in about two hours, people traded between 500 and 600 plants.
“I think there is this culture here, to beautify your space, to enjoy the outdoors – to appreciate that we live in a beautiful city,” Morganti said.
The “only downside” to this new location was “you couldn’t see its beautiful garden,” said Rose Yevich, a friend of Morganti who lives in Newtonville.
Located on Lewis Street, Morganti’s front yard is a woodland garden, with plants that bloom in different seasons, she wrote in an email. Its garden has flowers such as iris, peony and hybrid daylilies and an orchid greenhouse.
Morganti said she offers gardening and design advice and donates plants to friends, local organizations and people who stop by her garden.
“Mary’s generosity, coupled with her knack for picking the right plant in the right place, gives her entire gardening community invaluable help in creating beautiful gardens,” Yevich wrote in an email.
Joanne Tuller, who has lived in Dorchester and has been to the plant exchange for decades, said this year’s event had a new table for native plants.
Marc Welch, city forester for Newton’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Culture, said in an email: “People in general are more and more aware of the environment and the impact that we have on this one, getting people to learn about the benefits of native plants.
He said native plants are important for local wildlife because they provide diverse habitat and create ecosystems that are not invasive to other plants.
Yevich emphasized the psychological aspect of gardening.
“The gardens provide a calming, relaxing and refreshing feeling for people,” she said. “They provide great comfort and the connection of beauty, which is so important for people who are particularly in stressful states.”
Tuller said she finds gardening meditative and it helps her feel peaceful and grounded.
“Gardeners, I think, are the best, they’re so optimistic,” Morganti said. “They put something in the ground with the hope that things will grow.”
Yevich said one of the benefits of the plant swap is that it gave residents a chance to socialize – many for the first time in a long time.
“It’s one of the first social events I’ve attended since we were less restricted,” Tuller said. “And it was wonderful.”
With a family history of farming, Yevich said the “best part” of gardening is when families are involved.
“What this means is that the love of gardening and the love of gardens are passed on to the next generation,” she said.
Morganti said she can’t wait for the plant exchange to continue.
“It’s like when you make sourdough bread from the starter, you know,” she said. “The starter is there, it will hold up at this point.”
Luwa Yin can be contacted at [email protected].