Happy first week of school Armadillos!

I hope that you have all had a wonderful first week!  The garden is also "back" to school and has some new residents as well.  This week we planted new landscape plants for some fun fall foliage that believe it or not, is just around the corner!  Also, we planted zucchini, cucumbers, green beans and marigolds inside the vegetable beds.  The marigolds are an excellent plant to place next to the vegetables and fruits as they attract the insects that might otherwise bother our edible crops as well as attracting helpful pollinators.

Our most exciting event this week was the completion of the 3rd Eagle Scout project, a sensory bed for our garden!  Jeff Bowcutt and his team of helpers built a fantastic new raised bed that is dedicated for sensory exploration, students will be able to touch, smell, rearrange, and experiment with this new part of the garden.  As this raised bed has higher brick walls we are also able to paint them!  Is anyone interested painting with their students???

Thank you to Jeff and his team of supporters!

Thank you to Plants for All Seasons on Louetta, as they have donated many of our plants and recently donated more plants and seeds, they have been an integral part of our gardens success!

Also, some of our first graders visited the garden and planted some green beans and white icicle radishes, be sure to check on their progress!

As the new year gets under way the garden is open and welcomes everyone, teachers and staff are encouraged to take their students on a nature adventure, there is really no way to "mess up" the garden it is there to be created, deconstructed, recycled and observed so dig in!!!  Even if you are just reading a book under the shade of the trees, the imagery of the garden can take the story to a whole new level.

Please contact me if you would like to set up a time or special activity in the garden, I will be there this Wednesday at 10am.

One project that can be fun and easy is to harvest some oregano, basil and mint and dry it in the classroom and then have the students turn it into a "dry spice mix" that can be placed on pizza or mixed with olive oil and eaten with french bread!  We have lots of okra and eggplant right now and I am working on ways we can cook them up for the kids, perhaps some gumbo with rice?  Any ideas and or recipes are most welcome!

Finally, be on the lookout for the Garden Club as we are laying plans for how and when the club will take place, please let me know if you are interested or know someone who may be interested in working with the club?!

See you at the garden!

Maryah Roberts, nuzha13@hotmail.com

A family of herbs and vegetables!

Eggplant, okra, basil and oregano!

Our new zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes and peppers, watch how they will grow!

New colors for the fall, crotons, mums and celosia!

Jeff Bowcutt and his Eagle Scout project in the making!

Jeff and his finished project!

The super team!