Not only are our spring plantings in the ground and growing, but our membership is as well! Welcome Shirley Pierce, Sheila Kiliru, Mary Michael, Gretchen Becknell, Rebecca VonHoene, Debbie Cook, Aleisha Tickle, and Jeff Shepard! Several members have renewed their membership and we look forward to many more new and existing growers to plant and share their gifts of help, support, ideas, and fellowship in The Garden of Concord!
We have planted shell peas, sugar snap peas, snow peas, romaine and spring mix lettuces, asparagus, carrots, onions, garlic, beets, turnips, collards, mustard, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, potatoes, and strawberries. We have started in trays for later planting, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, herbs, and flowers. Regular updates of what we are working on, growing, and harvesting can be found on our blog http://www.thegardenofconcord.blogspot.com/
Please mark your calendars for a couple of garden events happening soon. On Saturday, April 17th, a local cub scout troop will be joining us in the garden to plant blueberry bushes, grapevines, and flowering trees along with other planting activities. We will be grilling up hotdogs to serve along with sides and drinks to the troop, their parents, leaders, and all garden members. More details will follow shortly to include a signup list for food.
We also will be having our Mother’s Day Flower sale again this year as a fundraiser for the garden. 4” wrapped potted plants will be pre-sold for $5.00 each with a gift card included. Order forms will be available soon along with details of the pickup date and site. Thank you in advance for your support and participation in these garden events.
Many material donations have been received over the past couple of weeks to include newspapers, straw, compost, pine needles, cow manure, cardboard, and of course, our awesome new broad fork! Your continued donations are appreciated to include yard décor pieces such as large pots (or any interesting container to plant flowers in), benches, picket fence sections, bird houses, small signs, etc. for our theme gardens. Monetary donations are always welcomed and needed!
We have completed the rebuilding and prepping of our existing vegetable beds and are now ready to plan, build, and plant our theme gardens for all to enjoy. Please let me know asap if you would be interested in managing one of these theme gardens which would involve the planning, planting, and care of the flowers as related to the particular garden. We have already marked out designated areas and will assist in the building and continued stages of the beds. We have several flower seeds to pick from to include some that have already been started in flats. The beds suggested so far include a prayer garden, butterfly garden, edible flower garden, medicinal garden, container garden, cut flower garden, bulb garden, and wedding garden. We are open to any other suggestions and ideas you may have! Remember, no green thumb is required in The Garden of Concord! We are learning and planting together!
The Garden Advisory Board has met several times over the past couple of months to brainstorm planting plans, events, fundraisers, grant research, and membership development. All members are always invited to attend these meetings. This is “your” garden and we value everyone’s thoughts, ideas, and concerns. The next GAB meeting is scheduled on April 12th at 7:00 pm in the meeting room of Concord UMC. We have been contacting other community gardens to get their ideas as well on the areas mentioned above. Generally, the success found by most in membership and fundraising has been by word of mouth and the donations from individuals within the garden, congregations, and the community.
Thank you for your continued help, support, and the sharing of the good news of our garden!
It WILL be good!
