SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — As February approaches, love is in the air. A Scranton garden is displaying just how big of a heart the community has.
A non-profit community garden in Lackawanna County is ready to bloom as spring approaches.
A Scranton native decided to plant his roots on Cedar Avenue when he laid eyes on what was an empty lot.
“I took a walk along some of the streets and decided to walk into the neighborhoods and I saw a for sale sign on a vacant lot and called a real estate agent,” said Frank Dubas, the founder of Garden of Cedar.
Dubas turned this space into the Garden of Cedar, a community park garden designed in the form of a maze to attract all ages.
“It’s a fairly densely populated area, there are a number of people here who like to garden, they live in apartments but they don’t have room so I thought we could just do something with it and it would fit nicely into the neighborhood,” says Dubas.
The project is nearing completion.
“It’s a pretty unique project. We do a lot of different projects all over, not like this one. It’s great, I think it’s great for the community,” said Jerry Chilewski owner of Chilewski Enterprises.
The Scranton garden is giving off more than just electricity.
Love is in the air at the Garden of Cedar and locals have the opportunity to come and find their heart in the South Side.
With the season of love approaching, the cupid of Cedar Avenue is planting a heart, or a thousand.
“I just got the idea, why not plant some hearts and it took off like wildfire,” explained Dubas.
The garden is taking lovebirds’ names and letting them blossom. Currently, several hundred hearts are ready to go into the soil with a goal of reaching one thousand.
The Valentine’s tributes would not be possible without the students of West Scranton and Scranton high schools who have taken the task of filling the empty hearts.
“It sort of makes your heart feel good that something like this is happening,” added Dubas.
The Garden of Cedar will host a “find your heart” event on February 11 where all are welcome to search for their special spot in the soil.
Anyone can submit their names to be planted in the Garden of Cedar by emailing you and your loved one’s first names to gardenofcedar@gmail.com.
