Loofah Blossom July 26, 2014 at Garland Community Garden

A Garden is a living thing.  You can never visit the same garden twice.

I visited the Garland Community Garden at 4022 Naaman School Road for two hours last week on Friday and then once again for two hours on Saturday and then again for two hours on Sunday.  Gardens are like rivers:  You never step into the same garden or the same river twice.  They both continue to flow with or without human intervention.

It's a great and reassuring experience to watch a living thing grow.  Perhaps it's reassuring because the life and growth is a testimony to the continuity of life--sometimes even in spite of what we do or don't do.  Take for example, the loofah and the morning glory vines.  In late May or early June of this year I planted the loofah seeds in a pot in which I had planted morning glory seeds a few days before.  The seeds for both plants took so long to germinate that I gave up on them.  Then, the first week of July I noticed both the loofah and the morning glory seeds had sprouted.  I don't know what caused the growth spurt, but somehow over the past three weeks the garden has gained a healthy loofah and morning glory vine.

Loofah Blossoms July 31, 2014 at Garland Community Garden

Then, just this morning (July 31) I was down there after the rain and the loofah vine is full of blooms as shown in the photo above. The morning glory isn't blooming yet (although the vine is healthy). The loofah vine is chocking it out.  If I had only had more faith in my seeds, I would have planted the morning glory in another pot.  Oh well. . . that's another thing about Gardening:  there's always a second chance the next season.

 __________________________________________________________________

Fall Planting Has Begun at the Garland Community Garden

Now is the time to begin putting in your vegetables for your fall garden.  Some members began on July 26.  We currently have seeds with markers indicating where the seeds were sown so others don't over-plant.  Thus far we have seeded Brussels Sprouts, Beets, and Kale.  If  you would like to plant a packet of seeds down there (4022 Naaman School Road, here is what you do:  1.  Find a spot (ideally in the winding garden in the back) that has nothing growing in it.  You may have to move the straw back.  In fact it is advisable as then it is more visible where you have planted.  Please identify what you planted with a marker of some sort. Markers can be as simple as a wine cork stuck on a wooden skewer and the name of the plant written on the cork with a magic marker.  If room, it's especially nice if you put the planting date.  If you want more information on what to plant when in your fall garden in Garland, here is a PDF for you:  Vegetable Planting Guide.