February 2025 – sharonleestable.com

February 20, 2025February 20, 2025

BD Provisions’ Gallentine’s Day Party a heartwarming event

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu & Tai Chi

and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

Hearts could be seen here, there and everywhere during BD Provisions‘ February 13th Gallentine’s Day Party, creating the perfect atmosphere for an event that was a combination social gathering and shopping experience. Initially a vision of BD Provisions’ co-owner/host Debra Saltz and Hip Mod Vintage proprietor Amy Heath, the party was a great opportunity for attendees to find unique Valentine’s Day gifts.

Located just inside the store’s entrance, an eye-catching display of jewelry from Hip Mod Vintage drew customers like bees to honey. Woven throughout the collection were heart-shaped rings and necklaces featuring hearts like the one seen in the opening photo.

Heath, is well-known as a longtime vendor at the Severna Park Farmer’s Market selling her recycled and perfectly restored vintage jewelry and other upcycled treasures. She also sells items from her equally well-known daughter Ellie Heath’s Three Blue Bunnies‘ collection of stylish jean jackets and other accessories she created from recycled materials.

**Hip Mod Vintage owner Amy Heath greeted customers non-stop during the Gallentine’s Day Party.** Photos by Sharon Lee Tegler

“The farmer’s market actually opens a week earlier this year on April 19th and Hip Mod Vintage will be there,” Amy told us. But Ellie won’t be on hand as she’s living in Newport, Rhode Island where she’ll graduate this year from Salve Regina University. Luckily, she’s sending me new items she is creating for Three Blue Bunnies including trendy tote bags made from donated fabrics.”

Other vendors marketed heart-themed products at the Gallentine’s Day event. At the end of the first aisle, we spotted vendor Caren Bach (who can be seen on the far left in the opening photo). We worked our way to the Cookies by Caren booth and sampled her adorable heart-shaped cookies as well as cookies she made entirely from BD Provisions’ products. They were yummy.

**Cookies by Caren’s heart-themed cookies were the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day**.

Turning a corner, we happened upon Rebecca Gillin’s delightful Me Time LLC Bath Bomb, Soaks and Scrubs booth.

**Me Time LLC owner Rebecca Gillin’s heart-shaped bath bombs and soaps were perfectly complemented by her heart -themed sweater.**

Gillin’s love of bath bombs was the inspiration for creating a whole range of products – products so successful she has been in business for three years.

“My children and I really loved bath bombs and I bought a lot of them. So I started making them myself and then expanded to other products,” Gillin said. “The children even helped me and the colorful beaded bracelets I’m displaying were made by them.”

Rows of bath salts and heart-shaped soaps and heart-shaped bath bombs were great options for Valentine’s gift shoppers.

For those who love to soak like Gillin, the Me Time products are ideal.

“I have a husband and two sons, so I was the only woman in the house. I could frequently be heard saying ‘I need a little me time’ which was the inspiration for the name of my business,” Gillin said.

Gallentine’s Day Party guests were having a wonderful time. They sipped complimentary Sparkling Cider, entered the raffle with its heart-shaped tickets, roamed the aisles and carried their purchases in heart-embossed gift bags.

Sparkling cider was offered, and guests were allowed a sample of candy from the barrels.

Curiously, we noticed a few men attending the Gallentine’s Day Party, likely husbands or boyfriends eager to know what it was all about.

**We were surprised to see several men at the Gallentine’s Day Party…but then, a party’s a party.**

In addition to its normal wide array of chocolates and other candies, BP Provisions had Valentine’s Day specialties including those hard-to-find candy hearts of various kinds. They also had Valentine Candy Gift Boxes put together by the staff.

Ever-so-popular Candy Hearts of various kinds.

There were a few children attending the event including young Poppy who was being helped to a piece of candy she selected by BD Provisions’ owner Debra Saltz.

**Yum indeed… thought young Poppy when handed a piece of chocolate by BD Provisions co-owner Debra Saltz.**

Poppy came to the Gallentine’s Day Party with her mother Taryn Gilbertson and aunt Jantra Silbert, two of three sisters (along with Dara Robinette) who own the nearby Stellaluna Raine Boutique. The sisters were drawn to the event because they know the vendors and have also visited BD Provisions on occasion.

BD Provisions is becoming known for hosting community-oriented special events that are fun – often featuring vendors. They frequently post those events at Facebook or Instagram.

St. Patrick’s Day Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Fundraiser at Baldwin Hall March 15th

The Severn Cross Roads Foundation recently announced that Historic Baldwin Hall in Millersville will once again be decorated with shamrocks on Saturday, March 15th when the organization’s St. Patrick’s Day Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Fundraiser takes place from 7 to 10 pm. A much-anticipated social gathering, the annual event also raises funds needed for the preservation and maintenance of the beautiful Georgian Colonial-style structure built in 1861 as the Cross Roads Methodist Episcopal Church. Today the hall is a center of numerous community happenings.

**Bathed in light, shamrocks on the doors of Historic Baldwin Hall welcomed guests to the annual St. Patrick’s Day Wine, Cheese & Chocolate Fundraisers**. Photo by Sharon Lee Tegler

Tickets are $50 and include wine, craft beers, and soft drinks along with an array of fruits, vegetables and cheeses to tempt anyone’s tastebuds. Guests will enjoy live music by vocalist Richard Walton, a Silent Auction, a Basket of Cheer Raffle and 50-50 Raffle, Door Prizes and the company of friends, neighbors and supporters who appreciate Baldwin Hall’s fascinating history and architecture.

Tickets may be order tickets by calling 410-409-0187 or by sending an email to: gcampbell8185@gmail.com or they may be ordered online at https:PayPal.me/BaldwinHallMD.

The Around The Park Again column is brought to you this week by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi at 1195 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd. – For over two decades providing martial arts training that improves cardio-vascular health, strength and flexibility while reducing stress. Jing Ying is again bringing Tai Chi to the Severna Park Community Center.)

and by Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services at 815 Ritchie Hwy., Suite 206 – When you need someone to lean on, Lean On Dee. Their experienced team of personal care management specialists and friendly companions provide high quality consistent care.

February 13, 2025February 13, 2025

County development plans could increase congestion, resource demand in Severna Park

AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi

and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

High-rise apartments, townhouses and high-density development areas resembling Annapolis Town Center (seen in the photograph above) could be in the near future for Severna Park if a bill being debated by the Anne Arundel County Council is passed.

We were alerted by friend and Severna Park resident Amy Badger Laque’s repost of a Magothy River Association Facebook post notifying the public that the Anne Arundel County Council is debating Bill 2-25 which would fast-track such high-density construction in several locations throughout the county including the Route 2 (Ritchie Highway) corridor.

Badger’s repost urged her friends to view the MRA post (including the map seen below) showing the area of the community affected and then reach out to the County Council. Like many residents who moved to Severna Park for good schools and a high standard of living, she’s disappointed and disillusioned by the overdevelopment of the area.

**The Magothy River Association map showing the narrow corridor between the Severn and Magothy Rivers that would be affected by the development plan referred to in Anne Arundel County Council Bill 2-25.**

“For example, there are five public storage facilities within half a mile of my home off Jumper’s Mill Road, none of which are at capacity,” she said. “The amount of building is unconscionable and completely contradicts County Executive Steuart Pittman’s purported stance. It’s also a bit ironic, considering the Green Infrastructure Master Plan.”

In addition to opposition from the Magothy River Association, Bill 2-25 has also been a topic of concern at two successive meetings of the Greater Severna Park Council according to board president Maureen Carr York.

“We first met two weeks ago to discuss the matter after which board members Craig Meyers and Doug Nichols wrote up a statement of concern regarding the bill which was proposed by County Executive Pittman,” Carr said.

She further noted that, because the Council has existed since the 1960’s to preserve the character and small town feel of Severna Park, similar issues have come up before. The members are overwhelmingly convinced that Bill 2-25 and similar proposals would be overwhelmingly bad for the community and residents feel the same way.

In 2012, Carr was a member of a Citizens Advisory Committee regarding the Transportational Functional Master Plan for 2040.

“At that time, the planners were advocating for transit-oriented development and high-density housing in areas they described as ‘much bigger than Annapolis Town Center’ with high-speed buses,” she said. “We didn’t favor the plan.”

The GSPC board’s second meeting, with Amanda Fiedler, Anne Arundel County Council member for District 5 in attendance, was held February 11. Fiedler, who strives to preserve the character of the community while protecting the environment of her district, was working on an amendment to Bill 2-25.

Deeply committed to Severna Park and other areas of District 5, Anne Arundel County Councilmember Amanda Fiedler is often seen out and about. On Earth Day of 2019, she and son Alex volunteered to plant trees for the restoration of Cattail Creek project. Behind her were Berrywood Restoration Project Leader Molly LaChapelle and Governr Hogan’s Chief of Staff Stephen Shatz. Photos by Sharon Lee Tegler

Fiedler told us that Bill 2-25 allows an area labeled a Critical Corridor to be redeveloped, skipping “both the sketch plan and preliminary plan steps of development.”

The councilmember says “she doesn’t have as much concern with this” as there would still be public meetings about the redevelopment and the two steps apply primarily to development on undeveloped tracts of land.

The Pittman administration said the bill was intended for more blighted areas with vacant retail space, Fiedler explains.

“The bill increases the potential residential units for a multi-family dwelling (apartment type complex) from 15 units per acre to 22 units per acre, if a commercial property is redeveloped,” she says.

It also does away with the requirement to have half the floor area of a redevelopment on a commercially zoned property actually be commercial.

“This means the redevelopment doesn’t have to have any commercial space at all,” she adds. “It could be redeveloped to all residential.”

Bill 2-25 also subsidizes development forcing local taxpayers to foot the bill for a 50% reduction of connection fees (water and sewer) for developers, presumably as a spur to development.

“The Pittman administration stated that the bustling retail space in Severna Park is unlikely to be appealing for redevelopment, so it probably won’t take place in the near future,” Fiedler says.

“My position is that, if the bill was not intended for an area like Severna Park but more blighted areas, then let’s remove the bustling commercial and residential areas from the bill. We most certainly do not need to have established active and robust communities identified as properties that are ripe for redevelopment.”

“I am working to identify amendment language that would remove the Severna Park area from Bill 2-25,” Fiedler concludes.

Having previously discussed challenges firefighters face in dealing with high-rise buildings with Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company Chief Dave Crawford, we also sought his input.

“The upper floors of some three-story assisted living homes in areas we’re responsible for are a struggle to reach with our current equipment,” Crawford says. “Aerial platform firetrucks are going for $2 million today. When I first priced the firetruck we need, it was going for $731,000. Just a year later, the price has risen to one million dollars.

Crawford, in the midst of organizing EHVFC’s annual Bull & Oyster Roast taking place this Saturday, February 15 (announcement below), hopes for a good turnout for the fundraiser. The volunteer fire department is self-sustaining. Thus, it receives no money from Anne Arundel County taxpayers and must raise funds for operating expenses, equipment and a new firehouse. The chief offers some food for thought. “

“A legislator mentioned to me that 8,000 high income tax bracket homeowners have moved away from Severna Park recently. No one wants to live in a metropolis considering the examples we have of Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. So, they move here and are entirely unaware that our services are not supported by taxpayers,” he says.

“We have to raise money. We sent out mailers asking for donations to 27,000 homes. Only 4,400 sent back a donation. We also sent mailers to 200 businesses and only two came back with donations…and some are huge businesses that are fully served by us.”

Crawford feels that, though not unexpected, the prospect of even denser residential development will add to the expense and burden of serving a nighttime population of 25,000 to 27,000 people that swells to a daytime population of 60,000 or 70,000 counting the workforce and students.

While more appropriate for a location within the boundaries of an already existing city, projects like the Annapolis Town Center tend to be a magnet for similar high-rise construction. Multiplex buildings are visible beyond the center in the photo below. Newly completed construction of additional high-rises can be seen nearby on Riva Road.

**Multi-plex buildings peer out over the rooflines of conventional storefronts north of Annapolis Town Center while, nearby, there are other newly constructed** **high-rise buildings on Riva Road.** Photo by Sharon Lee Tegler

The Anne Arundel County Council meeting concerning Bill 2-25 is being held on February 18 at Arundel Center at 44 Calvert Street in Annapolis for those who’d like to attend. For those who wish to make their feelings known to the Council, they may submit online testimony or comments by visiting County Council Meeting – February 18 | Anne Arundel County Government (aacounty.org).

Reminder: Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company Bull & Oyster Roast this Saturday

Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company’s annual Bull & Oyster Roast takes place Saturday, February 15 at the firehouse at 161 Ritchie Highway from 5 pm till 10 pm with food, music and fun. The menu is terrific with pit beef, ham and turkey and raw oysters, oyster stew, and oyster fritters plus all the trimmings and dessert. There will be 50/50 Boards, Big 6, Showdown Poker, Pull Tabs and Lottery Board adding to the fun. For tickets which are $50 in advance or $60 at the door see Earleigh Heights VFC (ehvfc.org).

**EHVFC’s annual Bull & Oyster Roasts are among the fire company’s most popular fundraising events.** Photo by Sharon Lee Tegler

Unity Gardens annual Spring Lecture at St. Phillips Epsicopal Church on February 22

Magothy River Association member Karen Royer tipped us that Unity Gardens has scheduled its annual Spring Lecture for 10 am on February 22 at St. Phillips Episcopal Church, 730 Bestgate Road, Annapolis.

“Unity Gardens is a small nonprofit that gives grants to civic organizations across Anne Arundel County to plant native trees, shrubs and perennials,” Royer says. “These grants help to control stormwater as well as provide habitat for birds, pollinators and wildlife. The Magothy River has benefitted from grants given to schools, churches, libraries, HOA’s, garden clubs and Scout projects in our watershed.”

This year’s lecture, titled “Nature’s Blueprint: Designing for Resiliency with Native Plants” features Ryan Drake, McCausland Natural Areas Manager of Morris Arboretum & Gardens, University of Pennsylvania. The lecture is a good way to learn about native plants and support the ongoing Unity Gardens grants. Tickets are $40. For information or tickets, visit Unity Gardens – Unity Gardens.

February 6, 2025February 7, 2025

Romenta Plants owner Alex Waldorf seeds her business even out of season

Brought to you by Jing Ying Institute of Kung Fu and Tai Chi

and Lean On Dee Senior Home Care Services

There’s never a time when Romenta Plants owner Alex Waldorf is not busy. A wedding and event florist, she’s also an avid gardener who grows some of the blooms used in her floral arrangements in her own Severna Park yard. She sources additional flowers, whenever possible, from Anne Arundel County farmers.

For several months of the year – basically wedding season from March through June and from September through November – Waldorf is extremely busy. However, the winter months are challenging for her, from both the gardening and wedding perspectives. She’s luckily able to offer her services as a freelance floral designer for other companies’ projects and markets floral arrangements through her website.

She’s currently offering Valentines bouquets in three sizes – medium-sized mason jar bouquets, larger luxury bouquets or smaller handheld bouquets tied with ribbon – that can be pre-ordered by visiting Flower Delivery, Local Flowers, Annapolis Flowers, Maryland Flowers, Anne Arundel Flowers, — Romenta Plants.

Romenta Plants is also teaming with The Coffee Trailer at 44 W. Earleigh Heights Road near the Yoga Barn to provide a Valentine’s Day Coffee and Flower Combo for $18.00. The combo can be preordered for pickup on February 14th by visiting Home | The Coffee Trailer (bestcoffeetrailer.com).

In addition, Waldorf works every week doing bud vases for Cafe Mezzanotte in Severna Park. Even as her garden sleeps through the chilly weather, however, she’s simultaneously preparing her land and growing seedlings for the coming season.

“I consider myself a ‘garden florist’, she says. “For a lot of my designs I work with seasonal blooms that are locally sourced and give off a garden vibe. Depending on the season, I source 20% or more flowers from my garden and most of the rest from area farmers.”

**Seasonal flowers like sunflowers, Common Boneset and thistles combine well with roses and greenery in this autumnal bridal bouquet.** Photo courtesy of Romenta Plants.

We came across Alex Waldorf while covering Good Neighbors Group’s Earth Day Celebration last April. She’d already sold quite a few of her fresh-as-the-breath of spring mason jar bouquets and herbs at her Romenta Plants booth. She enjoyed trading gardening tips with her customers and found that being a vendor was also good exposure for the wedding and event side of her business.

**Alex Waldorf’s Romenta Plants booth was an irresistible draw for visitors to Good Neighbors Group’s 2024 Earth Day celebration last April. Her colorful bouquets sold well.** Photo by Sharon Lee Tegler

Waldorf loves being a floral designer for weddings and large events though it’s hard work. For instance, she preps flowers on Thursday for a wedding on Saturday.

“You also have to carry dozens and dozens of flowers, buckets of water, ladders, tons of equipment and all the mechanics and bases to the wedding location,” she said. “There’s always so much to do that, these days, I hire a team of freelancers to help me as needed.”

Fortunately, Waldorf comes from a producer background having worked in television and film production for ten years traveling all over the world. She’s managed crews and equipment for programs ranging from National Geographic and the Discovery Channel to the Food Network so she was used to lugging around gear on random stages in random locations. (In fact, she’s currently working on the production side of the 2025 Annapolis Film Festival which takes place March 27-30 – a nice way to supplement her floral design business during a down time for weddings.)

Wedding season will soon be upon us, however. We asked the designer what some of her favorite weddings have been.

“I love brides who give me free rein to use different colors and different textures,” she said. “Delicate pink and white blooms with some contrasting blues work wonderfully for spring weddings. Autumn weddings generally call for more vivid hues so you can incorporate late season sunflowers, zinnias, dahlias, mums and marigolds which are abundant.”

**Waldorf** **used dozens of vividly hued flowers for this autumn wedding.** Photo courtesy of Romenta Plants.

Brightly colored casual bouquets graced not only the head table at the lovely wedding above but every table.

**Autumn-hued flowers were abundant on the head table as well as every other table at this wedding.** Photo courtesy of Romenta Plants.

Another favorite wedding design meant covering the ceiling of a 60 x 40 ft. tent at Herrington on the Bay with trailing plants and flowers. A third was a wedding with a Gothic vibe. The bride had a specific vision that allowed the florist to go out of her comfort zone.

“The wedding was so interesting,” Waldorf said. “The bride wore a black wedding dress that was beautiful. I created table designs featuring tall black candles surrounded by lush greenery and flowers in near black and deep purple shades with touches of dark crimsons and blues. It was outstanding.”

The upcoming spring wedding season coincides perfectly with the spring growing season and gardener Alex Waldorf has already given herself a head start. She’s employing a method known as cold stratification which involves scattering seeds on the ground while the weather is still freezing. Within a couple months, the seeds will sprout and pop through the ground healthy and hardy. She said winter sowing with seeds for sweet peas, calendulas, strawflowers, milkweed and poppies and other varieties of flowers has been failproof so far.

Waldorf’s passion for gardening runs deep and is integral to Romenta Plants’ success, truly a foundation for the business. The florist reflected that the most fun and most challenging aspect of her work is finding the growers she sources flowers from. After starting her business, she found a website that lists all the farmers and growers. The first thing she did was use that website to call to call growers nonstop to see if they would sell to her.

“After finding a farmer online, I’d check out the location and then ask if he or she would let me cut their blooms, she said. “Sometimes I’d work out a deal that, if I could come cut, they’d sell them to me cheap. Or I’d trade a bit of labor cutting and processing the flowers to get them ready for my use but also for the farmer’s other customers.”

Waldorf was immensely pleased to discover local growers in Annapolis and Davidsonville. If necessary, she could always go to wholesalers but it’s not really her style so she works local as much as she can.

Since moving to Severna Park, with its sandy soils, three years ago, her gardening challenges have been significant. In newly establishing her land, she’s learned it’s essential to add lots of amendments to the soil every year to have even a chance of growing a garden like those she’s had in the past when she lived in Washington, D.C. For now, she’s kind of a chaos gardener placing plants in the ground wherever there is space in hopes they’ll grow and taking lots of notes. But, in a few years’ time, she believes she’ll have a well-organized flower field with rows of blossoming plants of numerous colors and varieties. You can follow Alex Waldorf’s work on her website romentaplants.com) or @RomentaPlants on Facebook or Instagram.

Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company Bull & Oyster Roast February 15th

Earleigh Heights Volunteer Fire Company’s annual Bull & Oyster Roast will take place Saturday, February 15 at the firehouse at 161 Ritchie Highway from 5 pm till 10 pm with food, music and fun. As always, the menu will be terrific with pit beef, ham and turkey and raw oysters, oyster stew, and oyster fritters plus all the trimmings and dessert. There will be 50/50 Boards, Big 6, Showdown Poker, Pull Tabs and Lottery Board to grab your attention. The yearly event is always fun. For tickets which are $50 in advance or $60 at the door see Earleigh Heights VFC (ehvfc.org).