Houston COMMUNITY garden
The Henry H. Houston School Gardens provide a beautiful and environmentally friendly setting for the students, staff, and visitors to the school. Active involvement and direct support from the community, led by Houston's neighbor Patrick Hauck, is the driving force that has made this ever-expanding effort possible.
The garden along the Rural Lane side of the school serves as both a tranquil gathering place and an outdoor classroom. The space along the Allen Lane side of the school creates a welcoming sense of entry to the school and is symbolic of a caring community.
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The gardens are an ongoing volunteer-led effort and workdays are held throughout the year, which can be used as volunteer hours at Weaver's Way Co-Op. Watch the space below for more details of upcoming workdays and fundraising efforts.
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Check out this recent article in the Chestnut Hill Local about Patrick and our gardens!
Donate to the Garden!
Donations to our garden fund will help with ongoing maintenance, purchase of replacement plants, and garden improvement projects. You can also mail a check to 'Families for Houston' at 7300 Rural Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119 (include a note that the check is for the garden fund).
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Recent Projects
Lauren Wiley Memorial Tree​
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Using funds raised from generous donations, neighbors of Henry H. Houston Elementary planted a new tree in front of the school to honor Lauren Wiley, a Houston parent who passed unexpectedly last year. A memorial plaque was unveiled during the Lauren Wiley Memorial Spring Fling in May 2025 by Lauren's two sons, Eliot and Ben. ​
Pollinator Garden Fencing​
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While Houston students and staff were enjoying their summer vacation, Patrick installed a new fence to protect the pollinator garden. ​
Replacement Flag
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A new flag U.S. flag was generously donated by a member of the community and, over the summer break Patrick, Principal Hall, and Houston Building Engineer Glenda teamed up to replace the old one. ​
Spring Cleanup and Retaining Wall Planting
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A Houston Spring Cleanup was organized as part of the Philadelphia-wide event, Philly Spring Cleanup! Volunteers worked to pick up trash around the Houston grounds, clean up weeds, and prepare the soil above the newly repaired retaining wall for planting.
Patrick received plant donations from the Xerces Society, a habitat conservation nonprofit, and Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve, as well as financial grants through the Hardy Plant Society and Weavers Way. And the HSA ran a GoFundMe to raise funds from the community for this stretch of garden. The completion of this project means the entire perimeter of Houston school is now surrounded by beautiful garden beds.
A big shout out to Bennett Compost (a Houston parent-owned business!) for their generous donation of compost for the garden again this year!
Tree Planting on Rural Lane​
Thanks to Mt Airy Tree Tenders street trees were planted along Rural Lane next to the school and Patrick, with assistance from the HSA and community members, installed tree boxes around them!​
upcoming
workdays
Gather, Grow, and Give Back! Join the Houston Playground and Garden Committee for our first all-community meeting. We have lots of exciting plans for our Houston, but we need your help. Learn about the committee and how you can lend a hand to continue making Houston's playground and garden safer, more fun, and more beautiful. Meet our committee chairs, and bring your interests and questions!
When: Wednesday, November 18th, 7-8 pmWhere: Online via Google MeetJoin the meeting here: https://meet.google.com/whm-rzer-zee
