More Gardeners for Garland

I’m happy to report that yet another Garland family has decided to steward a plot at the Garland Community Garden.  Meet Ashley and Anthony DeLabano and their two darling children were assigned a garden plot Sunday afternoon, May 19.  They are the fifth family to join us this spring.  Garden awareness is on the rise in Garland!  Community Gardens are popping up all over the place. We now have the Saturn Hills Community Garden, Fresh Connections, and Good Samaritans are putting in a garden at their place. 

Our schools are putting in gardens too.  I know there is one slated for the fall near Centerville.  Parkcrest elementary has a great new garden that was just installed last fall.  Linsey Gilbert, School Nurse at Parkcrest was the mover and shaker who brought this garden to life and inspired a team of adults from the community to help her.  In addition to parents of the students at Parkcrest, we also had two naturalists—Reba Collins and David Parrish who helped to plan the garden.  Reba directed the design and installation of a lovely pollinator bed that borders the main vegetable garden on the street side.  David directed the installation of a Blackland Prairie section that borders the garden on the other side and along the top.  Nancy Tunell, from our Neighborhood Vitality Department, and I from Loving Garland Green assisted with the vegetable garden.  Of course the students planted the vegetables.  Over the summer, parents, neighbors and adults on the team will keep the garden watered.  It takes a village to make a school garden.

OTHER SIGHTS AT THE GARLAND COMMUNITY GARDEN

Our tomato plants are all growing like crazy!  I didn’t count but many of them already have large well-developed green tomatoes.  Another phenomenon:  we have really healthy watermelon vines—a first for our garden.  Also we have yellow squash.

(I know I shouldn’t brag but . . .)  This is also the first year for squash for all of us except the Drakes who last year got a few before the squash bugs moved in.  It seems that every year is different in terms of what grows well.

Tiger lilies are blooming.  Native common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) is over 4 feet tall and the cacti in the medicine wheel are blooming.  Our seedlings of Native Antelope Horn milkweed and also called "green milkweed" (Asclepias viridis) that we planted last week is holding its own in spite of all the heavy downpours we've had.

Tiger lilies are blooming.  We don't know where they came from.  None of our members recall planting them.

Cacti in the Medicine Wheel is blooming.  It's hard to believe all this began just three years ago with three cactus leaves.

Green Milkweed (Asclepias viridis) seedlings.  At maturity these plants will only be about two feet tall.