The Monarchs are coming!! Swallowtails too!

As we begin our second rotation in Science for the 2013-2014 school year with our second and fourth graders, I'm proud to announce the appearance of both monarch and swallowtail caterpillars in our LS Giving Garden.  We'll be observing their transformation to glorious butterflies.

Thanks to our Garden Volunteers led by Carla Hand who last Friday planted colorful pansies in the garden.  The veggies are growing and our students have loved pinching a lettuce sample or two or three while weeding, watering, and pruning.

Our next workday is Friday, October 4.

Introducing: The Durham Academy Grower's Bulletin

The Durham Academy Grower's News Bulletin!!!

Morning has Broken

Vegetable Garden Beds 2013

This Friday morning I enjoyed the peacefulness of our Giving Garden while I watered the vegetables planted during last Friday’s Garden workday.  Attached is diagram of the wide variety of vegetables that were planted.  I’m happy to report that there are many shoots sprouting from the beds!!  

I also took a moment to reflect upon the morning of what would have been my father’s 88th birthday.  Papou (Grandpa in Greek) Mike was an avid gardener having come from a family of farmers that grew luscious grapes, juicy oranges and tangy lemons in groves surrounding his home on the tiny Mediterranean island of Cyprus.  Daddy brought his love of gardening to the United States and I fortunately grew up in coastal Virginia with an enormous, bountiful garden each summer.  

2007

Figs were also a favorite summertime treat.  So it was without question that the best way to honor his passing seven years ago was to plant a fig tree in the Giving Garden.   Like our love for him, the fig tree has grown exponentially.  He would smile, knowing the tending by his grandson, Alexi, and other LS students in our Giving Garden nurtured the tree to grow tall, broad and strong.  That’s what he wished for his grandsons.  I’d say we’ve done him proud.  Eonia e mnimi (Eternal is your memory) Papou Mike.

Our next Garden Workday is Monday September 9th.  Mark your calendars and join us.

Fig Tree 2013

Fall Garden Workdays!

How fortunate we were that the weather cooperated on the first day of school!  Four classes visited the LS Giving Garden where they did a little drawing and weeding.  This was my favorite photo of the day.

Our wonderful LS Garden Volunteers have planned seven Garden Workdays for the fall.  Mark your calendars and come and join us.  Our first workday is Friday, August 23rd.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate so we can begin to cultivate our fall garden.

Here are the other days:  Monday, September 9; Friday, September 20; Friday, October 4; Friday, October 18; Friday, November 1; and Friday, November 15.

See you on Friday!  

Demetra

Gardens of Change

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

In late July, our friend, gardener and teacher emerita Mrs. Kendall posted this heartfelt entry reminding us of the history of our beautiful LS Giving Garden, where she also graciously announced the blog's revival.  I'm honored to follow in Mrs. Kendall's keystrokes in keeping the A Giving Garden blog in spectacular shape.  Please take the time to read her entry.

Joining Mrs. Streck in her classroom this fall marks a significant change in my teaching path that very soon will bring me and our students to the Giving Garden's gate almost daily.  With great enthusiasm and anticipation, I'm looking forward to tending the garden, teaching our children and watching them both grow exponentially.  Join us.

All the best,

Mrs. Kontos

A poem by Beatrix Potter

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Farewell Dear Blog...A Giving Garden Changes Hands

No, I'm not wrapping up this blog. I've decided to keep on blogging even though I am back home and not traveling in all those delightful places in Europe. What I am saying goodbye to is my previous blog at my old school, Durham Academy, in Durham, North Carolina. It was my first attempt at blogging, and the audience was initially meant to be for the teachers and staff who all agreed to volunteer to tend our school garden over the hot summer so it would survive. A blog seemed a great way to stay in communication and to share what each of us did and what we observed happening in the garden.


Here is a link to the garden blog:  http://agivinggarden.blogspot.com     

We called our garden A Giving Garden. Initially the name came from the wonderful Shel Silverstein book, A Giving Tree. The lesson in that beautiful book speaks to most of us so clearly--love is given selflessly and always with grace. We built that garden with much work, many hands and always with love. The goal was to offer the children a hands-on experience working in a garden, seeing how things grow, and learning the basics of how much work it takes to tend a garden. The results were excellent. Over several years the garden grew. Children loved their time with Mrs. Streck, the science teacher, in the garden. Some even volunteered to help weed and tend things during recess. The last year before I retired, much of the garden management had moved to the very capable hands of parents who spent after-school time tending the garden with their children. Volunteers from both DA Middle School and Upper School also came over periodically to do some of the more laborious garden work. It was so wonderful seeing how many people were involved in this garden.

A regular group tended the garden all summer long.

Early on, Debbie Suggs and I wrote and published a book, A Giving Garden, that was partly about our school garden and partly about all gardens since all gardens do give and give. 

For this book I wrote a longish poem that told the story of the garden's life cycle. Debbie took the photographs for every season of life in the garden. It took us a long time to put a small book together, but working on that book remains one of the finest times in my life. I shall always treasure it. Children were in the book, and even now if I look back at the book, it's so sweet seeing them as first and second graders when in reality they are now in Middle School.

Teachers sometimes brought children to the garden to read and later to write. I remember the joy of writing poems with some of the second graders in Karen Lovelace's class. Everyone strolled around silently and just observed, felt the breeze, listened to the birds, smelled the fresh herbs and then we all found a spot to plant ourselves and write. Later, back in class, there would be more writing time and time for a writer's conference. By the time the children shared their poems, I was absolutely dazzled by their poems. It confirms what I've always felt--children are natural poets. Somehow it gets lost along the way for most people, but it is there at the beginning. The garden as muse never grows old.

Always handy to have something to write in just in case the muse appeared.

Gardening in June, July and August in North Carolina is at times almost painful. The heat and humidity take their toll on even the most fervent gardener. But still we labored on each Friday morning. Sometimes the reward was a delicious iced-tea at Guglhupf. 

There we could sit (inside!!) and cool off, sip iced-tea and nibble on their glorious scones or croissants as we caught up on each other's news and gossip. It was always a lovely reward. Some of my fondest moments go back to the summer of 2011 when we began our summer tending.

Many hands make work go faster and easier.

Fellow teacher, Katherine Sherrill wrote a blog entry about her own home garden. It was always a delight when teachers made the blog their own with their personal stories.

A group of science teachers visited our garden one afternoon and were given a wonderful tour by science teacher, Lynn Colleen Streck (in green on far right).

Beautiful family stories became part of our garden one by one.

The garden always provided a quiet place.

Helping and enjoying the garden was just part of the fun.

The garden in all its stillness at dusk was a lovely place to visit.

So now, two years later, this blog will be given a new life and new direction as the garden continues to grow, as the children continue to learn, and as everyone continues to share the richness of our very own Giving Garden. Demetra Kontos (one of the blog founders) will take over the responsibility of writing and posting the blog. In her new position as the Assistant Science Teacher, Demetra will join Science Teacher, Lynn Colleen Streck and all the Garden Committee in making everything flourish. They will give to the garden, and the garden will give in return. That, my friends, is the eternal truth.

 Good loamy soil just begs to be planted.

Teachers, parents and children all help in the garden.

Many hands make our work easier.

This is the last entry in this blog. It comes just as winter officially draws to a close in a few days. March has been unseasonably warm and the garden committee has worked hard to make everything look tidy and neat. Daffodils abound, and all sorts of things are sprouting. Seeds are about to be planted and another season has opened to all who take the time to look and enjoy our giving garden.

Our Giving Garden Gets New Friends

The Lower School is next door to the Upper School, separated by a large parking lot and playing fields. Recently a ninth grade advisory led by Upper School teacher, Mrs. Edith Keene, came over to our giving garden to help out during a half-day workday.  They are planning a second work visit in November, which makes all of us hope that this is the beginning of a great new friendship. During their initial workday, the ninth graders did a lot of clearing  and cleaning around the compost bin area. 


Thank you to all the students in Mrs. Keene's Advisory:  Elliot, Zain, John-John, Sabrina, Chelsea, Marie, Caroline, Charles, Amanda, Austin Elizabeth, Andres and Dana. A big thank you also to Mrs. Keene! Please come enjoy the garden any time you want.

The Garden Now Returns to School

Some of the "Garden Care Group" taking a break on a hot summer day.

The refreshing and nourishing rain fell this weekend in our school garden. Earlier in the week I popped over to see how things were going, and it was evident that other hands had weeded here and there. The garden looked weary of such extremely high heat day after day, but the cotton plant had shot up so it's taller than me now. The tomatoes and peppers all had unripe babies just beginning to grow. The figs had been harvested (by birds or by people, I don't know). But this last week in the garden was very peaceful.


Soon the children will be back and the garden will be filled with laughter and giggles and wonder.  The garden thrives on that as much as it does on sun and rain.


For now this blog ends...our task of tending the garden over the summer is finished. Thanks to all for helping it grow so well.

Gardeners Gathering ~ Friday, August 5, 8:30 a.m.

Leaves make us feel so cool...

I had the fortune of seeing Beth Crawford and Betsy Foote this morning when I went into school to set up my room. They will both be joining Lyn Streck on Friday, August 5th at around 8:30 a.m. (unless they decide otherwise) to do some garden watering and tidying up. Unfortunately, I can't be there, but I hope some of you can. The really lovely treat of the morning will be when Betsy's sister plays the flute as everyone works in the garden. Sounds idyllic, doesn't it?

I'm not sure who else is working. I know Katherine and I are not, and I believe there is a yes from Debbie Suggs.

A message from Holly Williams ~ we have cotton growing in our garden. Apparently this has been a bad season for cotton, but ours never fails. I think Lyn and Holly plant only enchanted cotton!  More pictures to come.

The beautiful peeling bark of River Birch trees is a year-round treat.

Middle School, Middle School, How Does Your Garden Grow?

Since our own Lower School garden originated long ago on the Academy Road campus, it was really very exciting to learn that science teacher, Mrs. Barb Kanoy had created a Middle School garden this past year. She very kindly shared pictures from the past school year to let us see what they have done so far. Judging by the beautiful orange zinnias with the butterfly (above), it looks as if the garden has become a great success. We offer our congratulations to Mrs. Kanoy and all the students and teachers who helped create this young garden.

An overview of the new MS garden on Academy Road

Students tending the garden

The harvest! Carrots, potatoes and zucchini

Mrs. Kanoy also sent word that there are some new ideas for the coming year:

"After working with super garden enthusiasts across Durham this summer at the Earth Partnership for Schools at the NCBG, I am all fired up to make some additional garden space at the middle school.  Our little rain garden has really come along and my goal now is to make 4-5 additional habitat gardens.  The best news is, our new MS director, Jon Meredith is 100% behind the idea.  All the little gardeners moving up into the MS from the LS will have LOTS to do!   So, keep your fingers crossed that we can work it all out.  The MS campus could use a little TLC!"

Beautiful scarlet radishes

Middle Schoolers enjoying the spring garden

We hope this will be just the first of several interesting habitat gardens. 

Thanks for sharing with us, Mrs. Kanoy!