Letter from Fitler Square: Lessons From the Growing Season
A backyard gardener, age seven, grows a zucchini that becomes the talk of the block.
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This summer, seven-year-old Hayden planted a zucchini in his narrow Fitler Square backyard. It quietly grew into something extraordinary: more than 16 inches long, over four pounds in weight, and so unexpected that Hayden briefly doubted what it was.
“I kind of was like, is this a zucchini, or is this like something else?” he said. “Maybe a giant cucumber… or a squash. Or a giant eggplant.”
The zucchini, one of just two the plant produced, quickly became the pride of the garden and the surprise of the block. Neighbors stopped to admire it. Hayden let them hold it. “They said it’s heavy. ‘I can’t hold it!’” he laughed. “They thought it was from, like, a state fair or something.”
A quiet ritual takes root
Hayden doesn’t even like zucchini. He planted it, he said, because his mom does. “I just like growing stuff,” he explained. That instinct, nurtured by lessons at The Philadelphia School and years of backyard gardening, has bloomed into a quiet ritual of care, observation, and discovery.
“It’s taught Hayden about patience, and about surprises,” said his mother, Raina. “When you spend time really working at something, sometimes really amazing things can appear.”
Aaron, Hayden’s father, sees gardening as both a family tradition and a small act of stewardship. “It’s a way to care for the earth,” he said. “It involves nurturing, tending to the environment, and to the interconnectedness of everything.”
From garden to stoop stand
Hayden maintains the backyard plot largely on his own. He waters the plants, watches the sunlight, and sets up shop on weekends to share the results. On the family stoop, he sells children’s books, homemade organic soaps, and occasionally vegetables. One zucchini went to a neighbor. Another may become zucchini bread.
“People really like to come over and talk to him about it,” Aaron said. “It’s been a great way to meet neighbors and connect with the community.”
As the summer waned, a few zucchinis were still on the vine. One, Hayden noted, is medium-sized with a few dents. Not from an animal, just natural wear. “I hope it [grows],” he said.
Next year’s plans are already in motion: cucumbers, tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, and more zucchini. Even if he still won’t eat them. “I just like growing stuff,” he repeated.
In a neighborhood of rowhouses and postage-stamp plots, Hayden’s garden offers a quiet reminder. With enough care and curiosity, even the most modest patch can yield something surprising.
From The Community
Trinity Memorial Church is marking its 150th anniversary with a free symposium on Anna Wilstach, the Gilded Age philanthropist who founded the church and helped seed the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Wilstach’s legacy of generosity still echoes through the neighborhood she once called home. Register here.
