Posts Tagged ‘Master Gardeners’
Real Gardens wrap up
I went to the Real Gardens for Real People tour yesterday and felt an acute sense of my own garden failure.
I saw giant lettuce, blooming flowers, thoughtful yard plans, and sugar snap peas and spinach that looked like it could kick mine into next week.
Sigh.
I found it both intimidating and inspiring! Today I went to Baker’s Nursery and picked up some seeds determined to make a flourishing garden like my fellow Master Gardeners.
Here’s a look at the first five houses (my camera died at #5) on the garden tour.
#1 – A Sensory Garden
The Montessori School has an amazing garden that must be spectacular for children. They have veggies, a stream, statuary and feature 5 different sections appealing the 5 senses.
My question: how many bee stings are there each year?
“These were swans I had painted as peacocks,” said a representative of the Montessori garden. Why not?
Narrow vegetable beds for little people.
African daisies grow in a planter box.
Teaching the kids about compost.
A bright flower from the “Sight” garden.
Hang out area with mini-benches and a globe fountain.
You can feel the velvet-y leaves of the Feathery Cassia in the “Touch” garden.
#2 – Sunny and Shade
Mushroom statues add whimsy to the garden.
Tiered gardens produced amazing greens.
A trellis full of peas.
Some metal garden art.
#3 – Lush and Edible
A bee hangs out on a paper flower.
A garden gnome watches over Mr. Stripey tomatoes.
#4 – Garden of Ideas
This garden featured a water harvesting system and an underground cistern that holds over 9,000 gallons of water. Also featured, a variety of composting methods.
A desert adapted front yard.
This home owner created an outdoor room specifically for her 9 indoor cats. This is a photo of the room’s litter box.
And a little grass for them to munch on…
A built-in area for vermiculture (worm) composting.
#5 – The Collector’s Garden
An eclectic yard featuring a variety of plant-life, collections, artwork and more.
A sunflower.
Just of few of the birdhouses showcased on the premises.
A living sculpture tiered flowers.
And then…the battery died.
Sadly I missed photos of Dolce Verde, which features a sustainable garden and chickens and Gardener’s Muse, which incorporates permaculture ideas into an interesting and functional garden.
Real Gardens for Real People garden tour
If you look at your yard and wonder what on earth you could do to make it more functional, interesting, eco-friendly, you might want to visit the Real Gardens for Real People garden tour.
The tour spans the Central Corridor and covers the yards of 6 homes and a school.
Some gardens feature wild flowers, others chickens, and still more showcase herbs and veggies. The yards also demonstrate — composting and water harvesting.
