Today was the community garden open-house for the dirty dozen hub gardens supported by Franklin Park Conservatory’s Growing to Green Program. Ok, it wasn’t 102 like yesterday, but 90 degrees is still too warm to entice most people to stand in the hot sun looking at frazzled vegetation.
As usual, we benefitted from extraordinarily dedicated volunteers. The Conservatory’s Women’s Board sent Subha and Joanne to help us out at the Stoddart Avenue Community Garden for the entire duration of the tour. Shifts were also taken by Fairy Garden Barb, Kelly, Joey, Frank & Barb, and your faithful Garden Manager. Cathy and her kids also hung around for most of the tour to sell lemonade to raise money for our youth program and were ably assisted (with sales art work and serving) by Micayla, Giorgianna, and Kenaya. Cathy also helped me to pack everything up at the end.
Barb also put together some charming planters that visitors could buy for their own fairy gardens (or simply to decorate a bare patch in their own gardens). Beth donated a pair of Lucy's baby shoes. Charlie and I scoured garage sales. We have a few left for only $8/pair. First come first served. Just email me if you are interested. The proceeds will support our fledgling youth program.
We had the benefit of the patio umbrella donated last week by the McClellan family and the extra shade umbrella loaned by Fairy Garden Barb. (Otherwise, there is no shade at the SACG for the volunteers or visitors).
We showed our visitors the strawberry patch, the blueberry and raspberry bushes, the neighbor plots, the raised beds for seniors and youth gardeners in the annex, the fairy garden, the herb garden, the rain water harvesting system and our existing and new compost bins. I always highlight the scarecrow our youth put together too. One of the visitors asked to see the chore chart.
Most of our visitors were from other community gardens looking to see what we do differently in the event that they might incorporate something new into their own gardens. Our last visitor wanted us to work harder than we already do and to use our wood chips as mulch. Sigh. Bill stopped by with the new Growing to Green van.
After I set everything up this morning, I noticed that Rayna and Barb were up to something suspicious. They denied any conspiracy, but I was not convinced. When I returned, I told Cathy that I was pretty sure that they had put something in my plot. We walked over there, but didn’t notice anything. Oh well. Later, as we were packing up and I was throwing a milk carton into my plot that I need to plant tomorrow when it’s not so hot, I jumped about three feet when I turned around and saw a GIANT grasshopper hanging off my bean trellis. Funny girls.
Just in time for the tour, the magic garden gnome has also reappeared in the Garden to guard the plot of last year’s tidiest gardener. We hope that he doesn't walk off. . . . .
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