The Garden at the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pediatric Care Center is a unique, labyrinth-style space where fruits and vegetables are grown for the local community and patients and families can engage with nature as a part of the healing process. The Garden is part of a larger wellness vision to engage patients and their families about healthy food and nutrition, provide them with a hands-on experience in nature, and inspire them to grow produce and flowers at home, in whatever space they have available.
With the support of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s City Harvest program, the Garden at Karabots gets thousands of organic seedlings throughout the growing season.
Some produce grown in the Garden at Karabots includes:
- Basil
- Beets
- Carrots
- Collard Greens
- Cucumbers
- Eggplants
- Kale
- Lettuce
- Peppers
- Squash
- Tomatoes
All produce is harvested weekly, and the food is then given away for free Thursday mornings from May through November.
In addition to offering a tranquil place to relax before and after appointments, the Garden hosts a variety of educational programming and community events.
Join up for Books and Cooks, an interactive story and cooking program where we read together, play together, cook together, and eat together. All families will leave with a new book! The event is held on the third Tuesday of the month, from June through October! (Remaining dates for 2023 are: June 20, July 18, Aug. 15, Sept. 19 and Oct. 17.)
The Garden at Karabots is also a part of a group called SWWAG (Southwest and West Agriculture Group), which offers a series of educational classes. Check out the website to learn more!
The property at Karabots also boasts an orchard, planted in partnership with the Philadelphia Orchard Project, that includes 10 fruit trees and 250 feet of berry brambles with hardy kiwi, grapes, blackberries and raspberries.
In 2021, a Gun Violence Victims Memorial was installed in the Garden. It includes benches and a colorful, stained-glass sculpture and was designated as a space where survivors of gun violence can visit and reflect.
The Garden at Karabots • By the Numbers
- 55: Different types of vegetables, fruits and herbs grown
- 250: Feet of berry brambles
- 500: Plants grown
- 1,200: Volunteers pitched in to build and maintain the labyrinth-style space
- 1,200: Square feet of growing space
- 3,500: Pounds of fresh produce distributed to the community each year
Meet Our Gardener
Carly Freedman is the Community Garden and Food Sustainability Program Coordinator at Karabots. She is responsible for the Garden as well as the educational programming designed around it. Freedman has farmed and gardened all over the world.
Step 1: Bed prep - We use a tool to turn the soil and get it ready for planting.
Step 2: Seeding – We plant seeds that will sprout up to the sky.
Step 3: Watering - Seeds and plants need water to grow.
Step 4: Weeding – We pull out weeds to make room for our plants to grow.
Step 5: Harvesting - When our plants are fully grown, we pick the parts we can eat!
Step 6: Washing - Once we gather our harvest, we clean it off.
Step 7: Cooking – We chop up our vegetables and use them to make a delicious, nutritious meal.
Step 8: Eating – It’s time to eat our garden meal!