BANGOR, MAINE — A small door leads from a third-story art studio onto the flat, walled roof of the second floor at the Hammond Street Senior Center, concealing a lush hidden-away garden oasis that members of the organization have cultivated since 2010.
Senior center members and volunteers from the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteer program have built and lovingly tended 17 raised beds for flowers, herbs and vegetables, which are in full-blown summer productivity. Tomatoes and beets, sunflowers, basil and parsley, peas and beans, strawberries, dahlias and much, much more grow just above downtown Bangor. There also are neon-bright petunias spilling out of planters mounted on the outside wall of the rooftop, where they can be spotted by observant passers-by on the street below.
Soon, the public will have an opportunity to experience the garden when the Hammond Street Senior Center offers a rare opportunity to tour the rooftop garden, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10. There is no charge for the tour.
“Look how fabulous this is,” Kathy Bernier, the center’s executive director, said while gesturing at the colorful scene during a recent preview. “The morning view of these beds is just amazing.”
Even more amazing, perhaps, is the work that went into building this garden. Starting in 2010 with a grant from the Portland-based Martin’s Point health care organization, center members and volunteers oversaw the laying of a heavy rubber mat that covers the entire roof, preventing water from leaking into the structure below. They transported lumber and other materials, purchased at a discount from local building supply stores, up to the rooftop piece by piece, where the beds were constructed in place.
Dozens of bags of planting soil and compost were hauled up there, too, along with seedlings, seeds, tools, trellises, netting and other essentials. Over time, the garden has evolved into a verdant Eden of color and scent that invites urban birds and honeybees as well as the green-thumbed members of the senior center.
Most recently, Katherine Garland of the Cooperative Extension said, master gardeners and University of Maine students helped design and build a customized drip irrigation system that keeps everything green and growing. She pointed out that the rooftop ecosystem warms up early in the spring and can become quite hot during the summer, drying out the soil and challenging gardeners’ skills.
“It was good to get the UMaine students up here,” Garland said. “It helped develop their skills and showed them the value of civic involvement.” She added that anyone interested in designing their own drip irrigation system is welcome to attend the tour Monday to get ideas and suggestions.
Produce from the garden is used in meals prepared in the senior center kitchen or sold to members to take home. “It all gets snapped up pretty quickly,” Garland said.
Despite all the work, the future of the garden is unclear. The handsome former bank building that has housed the Hammond Street Senior Center for the past 16 years is for sale. Bernier, the director, said a new location for the senior center hadn’t yet been chosen but would need to be centrally located and provide more parking for members than the current site does. There are about 450 active members of the center, which provides educational and arts programs, hosts cultural events and promotes fitness and socialization for its members.
The Hammond Street Senior Center is located at 2 Hammond St. in the heart of downtown Bangor. During the free garden tour on Monday, light refreshments will be available and gardeners will be on hand to answer questions. For more information, to save a space or to request a disability accommodation, call 942-7396 or email katherine.garland@maine.edu.
