Editor’s Note: Activities at the Waverly Community House have been suspended, like so much else, due to the threat of the coronavirus’ spread. This story was prepared in advance. We are running an amended version now to highlight John Raike and his program, with hopes that it may be offered at a later date when normal operations resume.
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WAVERLY — Local gardener John Raike, of Clarks Green, was scheduled to share his expertise of gardening during a series of classes called Spring Gardening at the Comm with John Raike this month.
Raike wanted to give people something to do in March and allow them to have an early start in gardening for the upcoming season.
“Your mind is fresh for going into the spring,” he said.
Raike expected to teach spring gardening through lectures and visual presentations including his collection of photographs anspnd PowerPoint slides. His first class was to cover bulb gardening throughout the spring, summer, and fall. Another class was to be on creating a deer-resistant garden with plant selections.
Raike mentioned that the main theme for the classes was to be perennials. One of the sessions was to be an all-season perennial class. “The difference between a perennial and an annual visually is annuals have a tendency of blooming all summer whereas the perennials have a seasonal growth,” he said.
Raike also was to cover plants that bloom in the winter such as conifers and evergreens. At the end of each class, there was to be a 20-minute open discussion. “Someone might have an issue that’s very important that’s not getting g covered,” he said. “They might ask about soils or when’s a good time to mulch or organic ways to keep pests out of the garden.”
Raike also was going to ask students what they want him to talk about during the next class.
Why he gardens
Gardening has always made Raike happy. He believes that people who garden do it for a reason. For him, it is to create memories. He remembers when his mother got him into this pastime. “When my mom was depressed or sad, she would work in the garden,” he said. “When I know she was depressed, I would go and talk to her.”
Raike’s mother would let him help out in the garden. That’s what began his appreciation of gardening.
Growing up in Philadelphia, he earned a BS in agriculture at Penn State’s main campus. He worked as an outdoor horticulturist for Longwood Gardens for two years. He also supervised grad students at the horticultural gardens at Delaware University.
When he was a civilian affairs officer for 27 years, he toured some of the most unique gardens.
He has been to Germany’s Augburg Botanical Gardens, where re his brother-in-law worked. He has also been to gardens in Pittsburgh. St. Louis, Colombia, Hungary, Italy, and Afghanistan.
An Alpine gardener
Raike is an Alpine gardener, which means he knows how to grow plants and flowers through the short season of May to September. He currently volunteers planting flowers at the Waverly Comm and his church, Trinity Lutheran Church.
Being a Christian, he sees gardening as a way to be closer to God. “It’s a spiritual connection, ” he said. “Like faith, it’s shared.”
Raike also grows vegetables at the Waverly United Methodist Church, where he donated them to the poor. He is a member of the Laurel Garden Club in Scranton. He taught a class of students who walked from Waverly Elementary School to the Comm.
Using time-lapse videos, he showed them how a sunflower grows into the direction of the sun, hence its name.
Although the classes were going to be free, donations would be accepted at the door to cover the cost of supplies, with proceeds to benefit the Comm’s Garden Project. The Comm will have a raised-bed garden, in which kids can learn about different flowers and vegetable herbs.
Check the Comm’s website, waverlycomm.org, for updates on when programs might resume.
