Friends of Broad Ripple Park

If you have visited Broad Ripple Park in recent years, you may have enjoyed the beautiful Pollinator Garden along the sidewalk near the pool. Gold Level Master Gardener Mary Durkin was the guiding spirit for the Garden and spent many hours planning, planting, and caring for the beautiful native plants that nurture our native wildlife. Sadly, she passed away recently and is sorely missed.

Mary brought so much passion and knowledge to the garden, and its resurrection has brightened the park and given pleasure to many park visitors. Her delight for seeing the rich variety of both plants and pollinators is still contagious.

The Friends of Broad Ripple Park will do all we can to continue Mary’s work and plan to honor her legacy with a memorial. For now, you can enjoy a visit to the garden narrated by Mary in our Pollinator Garden video.

The Friends of Broad Ripple Park Pollinator Garden is displaying its high summer splendor! Take a walk past it the next time you visit our favorite park and enjoy the many happy pollinators sampling the nectar. And watch the video to learn about the garden and its dedicated volunteers, especially Master Gardener Mary Durkin.

Students from Christian Park Elementary relished a surprisingly snowy tour of the Broad Ripple Park Pollinator Gardener as Master Gardener Mary Durkin identified the plants and described how each benefits our buzzier friends. It was a particularly relevant visit because the students enjoy a salamander rain garden at their school.

Afterward, the students hiked in the 10 Acre Woods before being treated to a warm fire and s’mores courtesy of some generous park neighbors.

View photos on the Christian Park Elementary Facebook page.