Rain

night thunder
parched summer garden
revels in the rain

I was so thrilled to have rain in my own garden this week, that it seemed only fitting to toss in a haiku about it here. Those of you reading this who live in Durham had some rain several days in a row. From my side of the road in Chapel Hill, we had thunder and lightning but no rain until Tuesday when the skies opened and gifted us with much needed rain. How refreshing! The next morning I went into my garden and you could feel that plants were happy. Oddly enough, a bed of mint that I've been patientlly trying to get rid of had revived. I swear the new mint had grown four inches overnight, so now it's back to square one in eradicating this pesky mint.

Because our school garden got ample rain, there is no need to go and water it this week. We will have a group gardening meet up next Friday, July 8th. (Where is the summer going?) Meanwhile, I hope you all enjoy working in your own gardens and taking advantage of the great farmers market offerings.

Should you be interested, blueberries and blackberries are ready for picking locally at Herndon Hills Farms in Durham. Their fields are very kid-friendly and the offer the hospitality of chairs under shade trees and cool water to sip. You can't beat that.

"Many hands make light work."

Summer officially began this week, and our school garden is looking good right now. Katherine and I were the only two gardeners this morning since so many people were away. That is the way it will be from now until we return to school in mid-August. We decided that what the garden mainly needed today was a good watering since rain has been scarce. A bit of light weeding, pulling out a few spent cabbages, checking for hornworms (again, we think someone else removed them), trimming here and there. One of the school maintenance crew, Joe, stopped by and mentioned that he had pulled out some pokeweed. This was good because that was on our "to do" list. It's nice to know that others love this garden and stop by now and then to enjoy it or help it along. I wish I knew all the stories this garden could tell.

Katherine and I made an executive decision that our group won't work weekly--we don't need that much done as the summer gets hotter. Watering weekly is a must but different ones of us can pop out and water now and then. We will schedule the next "Gardening & Iced-Tea" morning for two weeks from now: July 8 (Friday) at 8:30 a.m.

Can you help out this Friday, June 24th?

We've changed our plan. It was so much more fun to work together that we will keep Friday mornings for anyone who can make it to help in the garden. 8:30 a.m. was a great start time because of the North Carolina heat. We can garden while it's still bearable out and sip iced-tea when it's not. ;)


{REPLY BELOW UNDER COMMENTS IF YOU PLAN ON HELPING THIS WEEK}


Things to do this week: 
1. Watering (especially if it doesn't rain before then)
2. Weeding (never ending, especially nutsedge)
3. Labeling things we need to work on over the summer (as per Katherine's idea)
4. Trimming back some overgrown herbs and plants
5. Putting in a few plants in the empty beds (let us know your suggestions)
6. Anything else?

Group Gardening is Fun!

8:30 a.m. was a perfect starting time for our morning gardening chores. We had a good turnout--Patsy and Katherine were hard at work by the time I (Mary) arrived ten minutes later. I was quickly followed by Lyn, Betsy and Demetra, and Holly arrived and gave us some much needed gardening updates. Together, we dug weeds, watered plants, pulled up spent plants and generally tidied things up. Katherine and I looked for tomato hornworms since there was evidence that they'd been eating, but try as we might, we couldn't spot a single one. Someone else must have been in yesterday and found the culprit(s) and got rid of them. 

We started talking about making a list of specific tasks we felt needed doing this summer, so stay tuned for this. Katherine suggested in a blog comment that maybe we could bring some big tongue depressors (craft sticks?) and mark things that needed doing.  We are talking about tasks like cutting back some herbs, sowing seed for others, dividing irises, etc.  There is always something that needs doing.

One thing that impressed all of us was how well kept the new garden shed is. Things are hung or put away so neatly. It's very easy to find things, so thanks Lyn and Holly!!

We are changing our summer care plan. Every Friday morning will be a time to come and garden if you are free. All of us will have weeks we can come and weeks we cannot. Vacations will interfere and real life has its clever way of making us take notice, but we feel that the garden will get sufficient care over the summer.  It will be exciting to watch things like the cotton plant growing;  seeing tomatoes turn ripe and red; gathering seed from other plants, etc.  No shortage of good things and who knows, maybe that lovely hawk that hangs around might just bless us with a visit while we are working.

Thanks everyone who worked today!  It was also fun to go to Guglhupf for iced tea and cranberry orange scones.  Happy gardening, friends!    

Stories in the Garden

Several years ago one of our great gardening friends, Demetra Kontos, brought a lovely young fig tree to plant in our school garden. It was planted in honor of her father who had recently passed away. What a beautiful tribute--to share a living plant, something all could enjoy watching grow. I know she could tell stories about her dad and why she chose a fig tree specifically. Last week when I went to water the garden, it was early evening and I took pictures of the fig tree. It has grown so much, and it is beautiful and strong. Looking past the beautiful leaves, I spotted many little figs growing. I am thinking that maybe our gardening group will have to bring some Greek yogurt and honey when the figs are ready to be eaten. Demetra and her family have brought us both something beautiful and something meaningful in the planting of this beautiful fig.

The Fig Tree planted in honor of Demetra's father

several years ago, now fully grown and beautiful.

Baby figs!

Friday Work Morning in the Garden

Friday morning is our scheduled work time for those who can make it. Patsy suggested an early morning time due to the heat, so we are setting our meet up time at 8:30 in the school garden.  Don't forget sunscreen and a water bottle!  When I was in the garden, I noticed quite a few weeds. If you have a hoe, please bring it to help cut those weeds out.  Also two of the vegetable beds need replanting.  I can bring some seeds for bush beans which handle hot weather pretty well. Feel free to bring other plants if you'd like to put them in.  Have questions or comments, please comment right here in the blog!  Oh, and don't forget, we'll go for some nice cold iced tea and a treat at Guglhupf restaurant after our work. Hope you can make it.

The Quiet Time~Early Evening in the Garden

Share Your Garden Stories or Ideas

If you would like to add a posting to this blog, you can simply email your text and pictures (if any) to me at: agivinggarden@gmail.com.  I will then put it in a posting in the blog. That seems easiest for now.

June Garden Schedule

June Garden Schedule 

Thursday, June 9th:  Mary will water the garden, tidy up, deadhead and anything else that needs doing.


Friday, June 17th: Garden Care helpers will meet at 8:30 to do all the gardening chores and watering. We will follow this with iced tea and scones @ Guglhupf Restaurant. :)  Let me know if you will help. 


Friday, June 24th:  We've changed our plan. It was so much more fun to work together that we will keep Friday mornings for anyone who can make it to help in the garden. 8:30 seemed to be a great start time because of the North Carolina heat. We can garden while it's still bearable out and sip iced-tea when it's not. ;)

A Giving Garden Blog Begins

It is June 9, 2011, and this blog is being started to help all the wonderful people who have offered to help out in our school garden.  Our garden has informally been called a "giving garden," so I've chosen to name the blog exactly that.

The school year presented lots of opportunities for the kids and teachers to get in the garden and help out. Lyn Colleen Streck, our outstanding science teacher and garden creator, made this part of the 1-4 curriculum. The 2010-11 school year included the addition of Teaching Assistant, Holly Williams, herself a Master Gardener in Durham County. What more could we want.

The Garden Committee is done for the school year, but we have a good-size group that has offered to tend the garden. This blog will allow all of us to keep up to date on the schedule for garden care and to update others as to what is happening in the garden. As we know a garden never sleeps--something is always going on.

I welcome all of you (as well as others who might visit) to share any of your own gardening stories. We share this love of working and tending gardens, and part of this delight is in telling about the small delights that take place day to day.

So, as I 'launch' this blog, I invite you all to take part this summer in our very own GIVING GARDEN.

Happy Gardening!