About me

Hi! I’m Beka, and welcome to The Honeysuckle Society. I am a mother of two, artist and gardener. I come from a long line of educators and artsy-craftsy women who can knit, sew, quilt, or crochet just about anything. During the pandemic I homeschooled my children and have served on the Garden Committee Chair at Maple Street Preschool and as co-chair at The Third Street School Garden where I received a Parent Appreciation Award.

For most of my life I never thought of myself as much of a gardener. Then one day, after a particularly challenging week, I began pulling the overgrown ivy out of my yard and discovered that I not only could do it, but that it was very therapeutic. Soon I became less fearful of making mistakes, and started spending as much time in the garden as possible, learning through trial and error. The wonder of seeing a small squash grown from seed or a lemon on my lemon tree, still dazzles me every time.

The Honeysuckle Society began as a small group of families picking up their children in our lovely school garden on 3rd Street in the East Village. We found ourselves connecting to each other and to the beauty around us. We watched as our children played together amongst the planters, naturally curious, and asked us questions about compost, the plants, the dirt…just about anything. A lovely community was formed and it was clear that these city kids were thriving in a natural outdoor play space, unique from the playground. The seed for the Honeysuckle Society was planted then and grew to into this program today.