By Beverly O’Shea
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Gardenaires—members of Seabrook’s gardening club—are ready to start using their green thumbs again.

Leader of the Gardenaires Bea Gardella estimates that the club, which meets seasonally, includes about 50 to 60 Seabrook residents. She reports that “tomatoes are the favored crop,” adding that some group members prefer to grow only flowers.

Seabrook provides 80 gardens—each a 10-foot by 10-foot patch—for people who live there and are interested in continuing the gardening they did in their previous homes. Some residents have taken two garden patches, a practice which will have to be curbed, Gardella says, because the gardens have a waiting list. In fact, she is in charge of keeping track of who has garden patches, who wants one, and who is thinking of giving up his or her spot.

In addition to tending to distribution, Gardella works with Mike Amalfa, Seabrook’s grounds supervisor, to make sure everything grows smoothly. For example, they are working on guidelines for pesticides.

Gardella points out that not all bugs are bad; some help the garden. Another guideline seeks to halt treeplanting, which can limit the sunlight available to  neighboring gardens.

This year, she wants to  start the gardening period by giving out some  information on composting. “I like to play in the garden!” Gardella exclaims. And with forsythias planted around the patio of her apartment at Seabrook, she feels right at home with her garden nearby.