Beauty and the Feast: Clear Creeks Project Brings Edible Landscapes to Middle River

By Christine Potts, Assistant Project Manger of Clear Creeks: Our Water, Our Heritage, Our Pride (Gunpowder Valley Conservancy)

Bowleys Quarters Community Association President Allen Robertson’s passion for clear creeks dates back to the days when a Middle River dinner could be caught by simply looking down.  

"When I was small, we used to come out from Hawthorne and go crabbing and fishing," he said. "You could go out on Frog Mortar Creek, turn your motor off, row around, look down, and see them!" 

"Now you can’t see down a couple of feet," he said with a tint of  exasperation in his voice. "There are times you can’t even swim in the bay."  

And yet, Robertson is as committed to restoration as he is resolved to make it happen: "We should be able to get it back in the condition it was in."  

With heartfelt purpose and civic determination, the lifelong Middle River resident is partnering with Clear Creeks: Our Water, Our Heritage, Our Pride, a citizen-based, grant-funded initiative that helps fulfill a community desire to restore the clarity of Middle River and Tidal Gunpowder waters.    

In addition to getting his existing property certified “BayWise” through a Clear Creeks partnership with the Baltimore County Master Gardeners, Robertson became the first resident to apply for and receive a Clear Creeks edible landscape.  On the day of the installation, he opened up his home for a hands-on workshop concerning the successful design and ecological benefits of edible landscapes. 

Not just your garden variety vegetable patch, an edible landscape is a carefully designed bed of edible and ornamental flowering trees and native plants, all working together to increase rainwater absorption, attract bees and butterflies, and provide food for people and pollinators.   

Clear Creeks Edible Landscape Specialist Patty Ceglia explained the theory to an assembly of neighbors and workshop participants. 

"We use stormwater management to produce food," she said.  "It’s productive, it’s ecological, it’s beneficial, and it’s easy to maintain." 

The installation of an edible landscape is also dramatically reduced in price for residents of the Middle River and Tidal Gunpowder watersheds.  Through grant funding from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Chesapeake Bay Trust, Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Sustainability and the Gunpowder Valley Conservancy, Clear Creeks covers 80 percent of design, labor and material costs for eligible residents. 

A semi-retired financial advisor, Robertson left Hawthorne for Bowleys Quarters in the late 1980s when he purchased a relative’s shore shack on Galloway Creek.  Thus began an expansive renovation of house, grounds and pier that continues to this day with the addition of his Clear Creek’s cherry tree guild and blueberry garden.

After serving participants a homemade lunch of crab soup, iced tea, and sundaes with all the fixings,  Robertson spoke of his community association’s partnership with Clear Creeks. 

"We encourage members and citizens to participate," he said.  "It’s a great deal for the community. They get a subsidized garden while minimizing runoff and protecting the Bay. That’s what we encourage—conservation of land and maintaining the rural character of the area."

Edible landscapes are a bountiful way for Robertson and his neighbors to practice preservation, according to Ceglia.

"I like working with homeowners to create change one house at a time,” she said. "Taking action, taking responsibility is just a lot of fun."