Marti's Memorial Garden

The Neighborhood Board, a group of people half my age, inherited The Marti Frumhoff Memorial Garden.
They appear unable to organize and care for it.
The last time I met with Jeff about the garden he complained, I could doing something else with my time!
I actually had to explain to him that volunteering is its own reward.

Over the years I also tolerated other dumfuckery such as, Was Marti your girlfriend?
No, she wasn't. She was however, a relentless volunteer.
This is how great it was looking in 2019.

Sculpture in Marti Frumhoff Memorial Garden

This sculpture anonymously appeared in Marti's Garden in the late fall. It's a piece of driftwood, was perfectly placed in a dark circle of mulch and anchored with a white rock. I'm impressed with its placement and the use of organic materiel.

A few weeks later another piece of wood appeared next to it.
It's quite suspenseful and I'm curious how it will evolve.

The Marti Frumhoff Memorial Garden is located on Morgan Ford Road and Utah.
The site was donated by St. Louis City.
I maintained this garden with lots of help from friends,neighbors, and a gorilla artist.


I took these photos last month. The garden was looking gorgeous and a group of volunteers from TGS helped plant hundreds of bulbs n late September for spring blossoms.

There's two benches in Marti's garden, one was anonymously donated by a local business and the garden fund paid for the other.
I researched benches online for a week in spring 2007. One day while in McDonald Park I spied a similar bench and called Dan Skillman, St. Louis City Parks Commissioner who shared the source for these benches. Dan Skillman has been a wonderful resource for the garden and his Dept. maintains the irrigation system.

Next spring the front of the garden facing MGF will be replanted with liriope.

Used Clothing Drive for Marti's Memorial Garden

I've partnered with Remains at 3340 Morgan Ford Road to collect clothing and shoes as a fundraiser for the Marti Frumhoff Memorial garden.

The white trailer above is in front of the business and will be available from Friday DEC 4 through Sunday DEC 13th. Bags can be delivered to the trailer which be open from 7 AM to 7 PM.

They accept: Clothing, belts, paired shoes in a separate bag, purses, and linens (towels, sheets, bedspreads and curtains). They'll also accept toys that 12 inches or smaller (and not sets like railroad tracks or card games).

They're paying 6 cents per pound collected so gather all clothing you're no longer willing to wear, keep it out of a landfill, and help provide for long term care for the Marti Frumhoff Memorial garden.

I miss Marti.


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Update: Marti Frumhoff Memorial Garden

I haven't been chasing brick because I've spent most of the last month putting plants in Marti's Memorial Garden along with Peggy and Gen. This week I bought and planted 85 more plants including hydrangeas, various roses, gayfather, dianthus, liriope and little henry.

All five trees (three cherry trees and two red maples) are thriving.
Next week two benches will be installed during the day (date not set yet) want to help?
Here's a link to my online fundraiser for the garden:
http://christian-herman.blogspot.com/

Marti Frumhoff Memorial Garden - the sign

Yesterday I met with Keith from the Parks Dept. for created this sign for the site. Here he is holding it in position (it won't be that height).
Awesome!
Thanks to the St. Louis Parks Department!

After leaving Marti's garden I encountered this at the entrance to McDonald Park.

Not knowing how to turn in a park to CSB I emailed the Parks Commissioner last night with these photos. He promptly responded: Thanks. I am turning in a work order this morning to get this addressed ASAP.

Peggy planting trees in Marti's garden

Marti's Frumhoff Memorial Garden

Tilling commences.

Trees go in on Wednesday.

Working the site I met some neighbors on Utah. A young man pulled up on the first day and asked if I was doing community service. When I explained I was a volunteer he told me he wanted to help. His name is Long and he brought his brother Duk along. Eventually Duk corralled members of his soccer team to help.

Joining me a bit later was Don and Jan (both 72) who tilled and carried buckets of soil for hours.

I went back on Sunday and within 15 minutes Long and Duk showed up to dig holes with me while Christopher tilled for hours. Long is 18, Duk is 10.

That afternoon a man named Cyril stopped who also lives on Utah and offered to help. We chatted and within ten minutes he said he wanted to be a block captain for his block.

Hard work digging in the clay but it's been a delightful experience and Long and Duk inspired me.

This pissed me off

A few days ago I went by the Marti Frumhoff Memorial Garden site and discovered these truck tracks in the clay:

Added to my annoyance was my talent for falling* which pitched me into a seething fury.

An irrigation system had been installed and as I stepped down into the wet clay which has the tenacity of quicksand to check on the line I slid into the clay stew. The stuff in the photo is the stuff of bricks. This was the day after an intense rain.

Sure enough a truck had taken out one of the sprinkler heads.


I came home and emailed the photo to the city project manager who met me on site today with a herd of other people: The contractor who built the site, The plumber(s) who installed the irrigation and an engineer.

Suddenly, everyone else was PISSED OFF.

Solutions were presented and discussed.

I mentioned I had offers from two neighbors who were willing to help till the site. I was told it's been tilled and had to explain to the herd of people that compost and gypsum must be added to the clay if anything is going to grow. Everyone agreed, boiling moods slowed to a simmer and the herd moved off.

Then I drove to Bayer's in Imperial, MO to pick out five trees.
Beau ran wild in the tree farm and lifted his leg on every trunk. *Bad Tim (after dropping me off after dinner one night) watched me fall down my front steps, roll across the sidewalk and land in the street. After asking if I was OK he said, That was spectacular!

Ground Breaking: Marti Frumhoff Memorial Garden

Almost one year to the date of supplying a plan to 10th ward alderman, Joe Vollmer, the ground breaking for Marti's Memorial Garden has begun!

For info on how to donate: http://www.martifrumhoffmemorial.org/

While the city is doing the work, we are raising funds to do the planting, provide benches and sidewalks, etc.

Update on MARTI FRUMHOFF Memorial Garden in TGS

The plans for Matri's memorial are moving along!
Here's a link to the new plans provided by the City:
http://fundraisers4marti.blogspot.com/

As everyone knows, Marti made a huge positive impact on our Tower Grove South neighborhood and the Rehabbing community by starting the Rehabber's yahoo group. But that's only one small example of the contributions she made and not just to the city but to each of us personally.

Because of the Marti's Rehabber's group, I spun off a Yahoo group for TGS/H residents and independent business owners, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TGSouth/ Marti was a TGH resident and hung out on our neighborhood group (she posted there much more than on Rehabber's)!

We currently have 298 members, have strengthened our Block Captains group as a result, organized the recent candle light vigil walk, and have become a stronger and more organized neighborhood because of Marti.

And, I simply must publicly thank Christopher Thiemet. Tim Klass and Peggy Hoelting for partnering on this memorial for Marti.

Christopher is the brain behind the web site.
Tim drew the original garden plans within seconds.
Peggy will be designing the garden.
Thanks to the many people who held mini fundraisers like Lynn Josse and Steve Wilke-Shaprio, state rep Mike Daus for making a contribution of 1,500.00 and everyone else who has contributed!

Please consider making a contribution to the memorial.
We accept donations via pay pal here: http://www.martifrumhoffmemorial.org/ and personal checks also!

More fundraisers are in the works for this project, I will update with info here as well as on the Rehabber's group

ISLAND ON MGF & UTAH - FUTURE SITE OF MARTI FRUMHOFF GARDEN

This small 'island' on the corner of Morgan Ford Road and Utah in TGS is the future site of a memorial garden for Marti Frumhoff, friend and neighbor.

Marti was a FORCE in our city, a talented woman with an astonishing ability to ideate and implement her plans. You can read more about her at my personal online fundraiser:http://gems4agarden.blogspot.com/. I'm working on this project with Christopher Thiemet and Peggy Hoelting.

Shortly after Marti's death in May I realized that I just couldn't let her go without a physical space dedicated to her memory.

I still can't believe she's gone because her presence and actions were SO immense.

WITH YOUR HELP WE WILL BUILD IT!
http://www.martifrumhoffmemorial.org/