Urban Gardening Festival May 17, 2014

this year's festival was our biggest ever; we more than tripled our attendance from last year!  there were also more than 50 vendors, exhibitors and artisans on the grounds sharing information and selling products to those that came to the festival.  we even had a visit from lelan statom, the meteorologist and co-host of talk of the town which airs locally on channel 5 at 11am, weekdays.  

now that the dust has settled, we will get back to the business of maintaining the garden.  look for new exhibits through out the summer.  we will have beds featuring sunflowers, potatoes, pumpkins and more.  until then, enjoy a few photos of what the garden looks like when it is not full of festival participants!

 there are mini pumpkin seeds waiting to sprout in this bed and we are planning to grow them vertically.

 our lady of the garden has a name!  allow me to introduce pansy winette

 the wind organ is a fun craft to make with kids.  save those plastic water bottles and get to work with this tutorial.

 one man's trash is another's treasure; a discarded wooden ladder is a plant stand in the garden.

 the shade garden is looking better than after having the soil amended with compost, leaf mold and pine fines.  it was a process that was long over due and the plants are now enjoying the improvement.

 a view across the rain garden at a few of the tents set up for the festival

 did you know that we also have a name for our rock star in the herb garden?  put your hands together for the one and only, jimi tindrix and the garden experience!!!

 pallet gardens are a bit of a fad, it is true.  many of them are tough to maintain because it is hard to keep them watered when vertical.  however, this configuration, which mimics horizontal flower boxes, is the solution.

 our old pallet garden has found a new life lying down and functioning more like a raised bed.

 we weren't the only ones getting ready for the festival-the ants were busy too!

 a year of hard work has paid off.  ty ann has put a tremendous amount of time and effort into restoring the perennial garden.  she recently added bird houses and some sculptures and what a difference it all has made!

 there have also been many new additions to the plants selection in the garden and as the seasons progress, there should be many new flowers to admire.

next time you see her, thank her; we almost tore down the garden and sold the existing plants at last year's festival.  it was ty ann that offered to try to save the garden and save it she did!

 the keyhole garden was a popular exhibit at the festival.  many people stopped by to learn the history and purpose behind this relatively new concept in gardening.  we are thrilled with how it is looking this year!

having planted it with a combination of leaves and roots, the plants are all doing nicely.  we are excited to see how it does for the summer, in the mean time, we will be harvesting lots of greens for salads and for cooking!

in the garden with cake; april 26

as we prepare for the urban gardening festival, lots of new exhibits are taking shape.  due to the continuing issues with root knot nematodes, we are experimenting with methods of vertical gardening.  even better is that this method repurposes milk jugs that would otherwise have gone into the trash.

 the rain garden has gotten a lot of attention this spring.  the basin has been weeded and aerated.  the grasses and sedums on the berm have been thinned and we are preparing to dig out some of the excess plants for sale at the festival.

 the square foot garden is shaping up nicely.  if you would like to garden and have little space, you should consider this method because it really works.

 the herb garden has gotten a new fence and it looks like a whole different place!  we are experimenting with hugelkultur in the herb garden so keep visiting the blog to see the progress of the plants.

 this little block garden is already producing large amounts of herbs!

 the seeds i planted in the keyhole garden are sprouting-i cannot wait to start picking lettuce and greens.

 want to learn about composting?  let us help you, we have several methods in use at the garden.

 tiarella, the current rock star in the shade garden

 i love this combination; golden creeping jenny, blue spruce sedum and dragon's blood stonecrop.

 beans are ready to grow up!  climb the vertical garden, climb!!!

 before you know it, the false blue indigo in the rain garden will be the star of the show

and of course, the nematode remediation plot.  the mustard and rape seed have sprouted, just waiting for the marigolds to get going.  we hope this works!!!

urban garden festival, may 18, 2013

 after a frantic couple of months of planning, planting and just about anything you can think of as related to maintaining a garden, we finally had our chance to show it all off.  thankfully, the rain held off and we had some sun, especially nice since we set it all up in the rain on friday!    as you came in from the parking area, these electric pink azalea bushes greeted you.

the rose society had a lovely selection of roses for sale.

our own plant sale featuring plants from our home gardens.

the new kid on the block, the keyhole garden.  to see how we built it, be sure to look at the keyhole garden page by clicking the tab above.

 all around the outer edge are herbs and beneficial plants that will attract beneficial insects to help us control the damaging ones.

 henny penny abandoned her nest but we left it up in the arbor for another bird to use.

 the herb garden has exploded with all of the rain that has fallen.  the large plant in the left/back is a comfrey that is putting on quite a display with all of its blooms.

 beautiful iris in the herb garden

this orange thyme has become one of my favorite plants.

 so many people were intrigued by the pallet garden.  i answered many questions about building one.

 a new feature for the show, a wildlife garden.  it is easy to get your yard certified as a wildlife habitat.

 cute statue and a lovely weigela in a pot

 the coreopsis in the rain garden is showing off its color

 the rain garden had a real workout the last few weeks and it shows in the lush new growth of all of the plants.

 the square foot garden, a great way to produce large amounts of vegetables in a small space.

 the zombie garden looks a little sparse but that will change as we add more dead bodies...

 the shade garden is always one of my favorite places to be.  

 our sedum garden is filling in nicely.

sedums have become one of my favorite plant groups.  they are hardy, versatile and the number of varieties is so great that you can always find one more...

all in all, the show was a success.  we had two food trucks join us, your dish is our command  and the yum cupcake truck, the food was great!  we hope you come out again next year!

happy mothers day!

although a little chilly, it was a beautiful morning in the garden.

 the rain garden is doing well, it is the only one of us that has truly enjoyed the heavy rainfall!

 comfrey in bloom in the herb garden

 love these little iris, so pretty

 cannas reaching for the sun

 here come the three sisters...three sisters garden that is!

 the square foot garden is coming along nicely

 false blue indigo is just beginning to bloom in the rain garden

 horehound, one of my new favorite plants because of it's color and shape 

 hostas in the shade garden-we will be leaving these in the pots and adding rocks to the holes in the hope of keeping the voles at bay.

 the entire shade garden is looking good with mulch in the walkways and pine needles in the beds.

 the view across the garden is pretty.  just wait until the perennial garden begins to bloom!

 love the gazebo, our little slice of eye candy!

 clematis on the gazebo-open already!

 the view from the shade garden is impressive

and for the snackage, a freshly baked loaf of date-walnut bread.  come join us as we prepare for our big event on 5/18.