Brick sculptor is 'a great choice'

Posted 9/17/20

Thank you for the article on Michael Morgan [“Michael Morgan: Mot just another brick in the wall,” Sept. 10] . In 2013, like many folks in Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy, we were educating …

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Brick sculptor is 'a great choice'

Posted

Thank you for the article on Michael Morgan [“Michael Morgan: Mot just another brick in the wall,” Sept. 10]. In 2013, like many folks in Chestnut Hill and Mt. Airy, we were educating ourselves about sustainability and wanting to commit ourselves to helping the environment. We were surprised to learn that our lovely green lawns actually had a negative environmental impact, due to problems involving water, fertilizers and other factors.

Converting our lawns by planting a garden of native plants could solve this problem, providing beauty, being self-sustaining and requiring less work! But how to do this? A neighbor recommended Morgan, an artist renowned for his brick sculptures. Uniquely, Michael is also a talented gardener who can look at a few leaves emerging from the soil and name the type of plant it is.

Relying on Michael, we took up our front lawn! The result was a beautiful garden, all perennial plants with a natural stone path running though the greenery. Michael knew what would grow best in shade and sun, what would grow tall and what would remain small. He helped us define what we wanted and worked cooperatively with us to design a wonderfully natural space. Each year the garden “fills-in” more and more, just as Michael said it would.

No longer a collection of small plants sparsely spaced, it has become an English garden and every spring a miracle to behold. Now in September, it seems bursting at the seams with tall white flowers coming, like stars, out of the green leafed hostas. The garden requires only occasional weeding and the cutting back of bushes. Michael was a great choice. Honest, easy going, hard-working and tireless, Michael is wonderful to work with.

Maxine and Alan Soffin
Chestnut Hill