Discovery Garden

Well, our first class in the garden was a wonderful success! Kristen led a fun and educational tour of the garden and everyone had a chance to meet many new friends (kids and bugs alike). ;)
Snacks, activities and stories made it a lovely day all around. It's so great for us to have a chance to invite lots of little ones into the garden to explore and be inspired!

















For more pictures of the fun day with our Bug Detectives, check out this link: garden detective slideshow


And insects aren't the only thing that can be good (or challenging) in a garden. If you've ever had a garden, you know that the same goes for "weeds". Did you know that a variety of plants that we call weeds are edible? Check out this link for more on tasty edibles like dandelion, purslane, lambs quarters, nettles and more: Wild edibles

Hope to see you one day soon in the garden. Until then, happy hunting!
~Marykaye

Bug detectives!

Join us this Saturday at 10am in the garden for our next children's class: Bug Detectives!
Are bugs good or bad for a garden?  Children will learn which bugs are helpful to a garden and which bugs are not.  With magnifying glasses in hand, the kids will explore the garden to find these little critters and make some new friends!  (This class was a hit last year).  Class is free but RSVP is welcome.  Just let us know by leaving a comment, sending an email or posting on our Facebook page.

We hope you can join us!  Check out our Events page for other fun activities coming up in the garden...

Happy Hunting!
~Marykaye

Remembering cooler days

How are you staying cool on these 90+ degree days?  Gardening in this heat can be a challenge, so we're taking cues from the experts.  Watering in the early morning or late afternoon/evening is best.  Resisting the urge to skip breaks in the shade and staying hydrated with homemade fruit-infused waters or agua fresca helps too (click for recipes).   They say the lycopene and carotenoids in the brightly colored fruits also help us handle UV radiation a bit better as well!

Looking over these pictures from our Grand Opening Festival in the garden a few weeks back is another way to dream of cooler days!  We were blessed with a lovely breezy day and plenty of umbrellas and sun shelters kept everyone comfortable.  Such a fun day...

Here are some of the pictures:


Plants that love all of this sun include the nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants) but make sure to pick and enjoy those fresh lettuces; very hot sunny days tend to make them bitter if you grow them outside during this stretch of the summer.  For more info on which veggies and fruits love sun and shade, check out this link from ehow.com.

Hope you stay cool and have fun!
See you soon. :)

~Marykaye

Join us this Saturday for our 3rd annual Grand Opening Festival in the garden!

Canopy? Check! 

Cocoa mulch? Check!

Fabulous memories waiting to be made at this weekend's festival? Checkity check!

We're readying the children's play area, stocking up on face paint and supplies for this year's fairy garden and browsing for scrumptious vegetarian recipes for this Saturday's grand opening festival in the garden.  Why not bring your favorite kid and join us for some fun?  The festival is free and all ages are welcome. 

Here's a few things you might see if you visit:

Our first tomato this year!



The man behind the canopy.  Thanks Don!! :)

Carrots ready to be thinned and lettuce ready to 
be featured in a salad near you

We'll be having a grand time from 3pm on: just look for our sun shelter along Elmerton Ave, right across from the new PSECU building.


Hope to see you there!

~Marykaye

Getting ready for our festival (Save the date: June 16th)

We're speeding along towards early summer but the 80-90 degree weather makes it feel like late June! Our plants are happy to oblige and are already filling out nicely in the bright sunshine. We've been weeding and getting things looking pretty in preparation for our 3rd annual opening festival in the garden, so save the date and join us from 3-6pm on Saturday, June 16th for food, kid's activities, music and a tour of the garden.

Here's what we've been up to:

Framework for this year's Fairy Garden

Happy plants love all this sunshine

Weeding, weeding, weeding!

Hope to see you all on June 16!  Until then, here's a great site with a similar mission: helping kids connect with nature in their area http://www.naturerocks.org .  They have some great downloadable resources including activity guides and a nature treasure hunt.  Print one out and have some fun in nature with your favorite kid!

Happy Memorial Day and a big thank you to all those that serve peace and keep us safe, happy and free. ~Marykaye

Coming right along

Thanks to gorgeous weather and a perfect mix of sun and rain, things are coming along nicely in the garden.  We continue to mulch and prepare beds, but many plants are also making their way into the ground.

This season it's tomatoville in the garden and some of the players we'll enjoy meeting include Paul Robeson, St. Pierre and St. Marzano, along with the cheeky Garden Peach, Ivory Egg and Isis Candy.  We know how to party in this garden! ;)  Other delicious additions will include Cumin, Sorrel, Celery, Anise and Stevia, all of which should be very interesting for the to kids taste and watch growing.

The pace is lovely and we get a lot done, but we also enjoy the time together with friends.  Many a problem is unwound and new solutions uncovered, all while weeding or laying out mulch under a beautiful blue sky.  

Here's what's been going on this week:

Chris contemplates a tomato plant.  Which one will this one be?

Awww, baby rainbow chard, our signature vegetable!

Lovely vistas and images abound every day in the garden

This is the lovely Pam of Pam's Creature Care, by the way.
(You may have heard of her)

Fairy ring still life, the first of many.  (We'll need a time-lapse photo).

The garden is a lovely place for an impromptu gathering.

(We do that a lot). ;)

Many helpers make light work

But you have to take time to play!
(And nothing beats a big pile of dirt).

Hope you have plenty of meaningful work AND time to play this week.  Wishes for a happy Mother's Day for all, including our beautiful Mama Earth!

~Marykaye

Earth Day 2012

Happy Earth Day!

What could be a greater blessing for the earth than rain on Earth Day?  Our plots were getting pretty dusty so this must be a welcome gift to the soil.  We're hoping that all who had celebrations planned were able to move them inside or enjoy them with a little rain gear and a hot drink.  More about some of them at http://www.earthday.org/2012 

Even on a rainy day there are so many fun activities to bring Earth Day inside. Painting coffee cans to plant with fresh kitchen herbs,  creating a recycling station for yourself or a neighbor or reading a great book about Earth Day with your favorite kid.  Another way is to explore a bit of the webisphere for all of the creative ways that gardens are blooming and nurturing children.  You can find a great resource here at: http://www.kidsgardening.org/groups/gardening-our-way-vermont  

So get cozy, breathe in the cool, fresh smell of rain and say a little word of gratitude for this big beautiful planet.  Let's keep it healthy and safe for generations to come.  :)

Happy Earth Day!

~Marykaye