By gardener Karoline
This bouquet, put together by a community garden residential neighbor, is one way to remember the Harvest Party, which on October 8, 2011, marked the near end of my first year as a community gardener.
These particular sunflowers happen to be one of my most memorable plants of the season. I was delighted at how long the cut flowers lasted (from my own garden plot) and I can not even describe the delight their shimmering bright petals brought to me.
I was surprised at how tall the stalks of the plant grew (the seed packaging only shows the flowers!), but being able to see how much the birds and bumblebees enjoyed them made up for the disadvantage that comes with having shade in your garden.
The seeds were part of the Minnesota Green allotment. At the beginning of the growing season, each gardener is offered to select 2 flower seed packets and 2 edibles. In addition to the Minnesota Green seeds and plants, which the garden as a whole pays a yearly fee to receive, the community garden received plant donations from Bailey Nursery.
My garden experience was made much more suspenseful (and thus more enjoyable) with these plants and seeds that were delivered directly to the garden/gardeners. Among the ones I selected were Bell Peppers, Cucuzzi Caravazzi (seeds), Cabbage Ornamental, Verbena 'Buenos Aires', Victoria Blue Salvia, Stonecrop, Salad Bowl Red Lettuce - plants I may not otherwise have had in my garden plot.
This bouquet, put together by a community garden residential neighbor, is one way to remember the Harvest Party, which on October 8, 2011, marked the near end of my first year as a community gardener.
These particular sunflowers happen to be one of my most memorable plants of the season. I was delighted at how long the cut flowers lasted (from my own garden plot) and I can not even describe the delight their shimmering bright petals brought to me.
I was surprised at how tall the stalks of the plant grew (the seed packaging only shows the flowers!), but being able to see how much the birds and bumblebees enjoyed them made up for the disadvantage that comes with having shade in your garden.
The seeds were part of the Minnesota Green allotment. At the beginning of the growing season, each gardener is offered to select 2 flower seed packets and 2 edibles. In addition to the Minnesota Green seeds and plants, which the garden as a whole pays a yearly fee to receive, the community garden received plant donations from Bailey Nursery.
My garden experience was made much more suspenseful (and thus more enjoyable) with these plants and seeds that were delivered directly to the garden/gardeners. Among the ones I selected were Bell Peppers, Cucuzzi Caravazzi (seeds), Cabbage Ornamental, Verbena 'Buenos Aires', Victoria Blue Salvia, Stonecrop, Salad Bowl Red Lettuce - plants I may not otherwise have had in my garden plot.
In conclusion, the community gardening experience benefits from the involvement of many people we may never meet, but events in the garden provide an opportunity to meet those that did the labor that made it all possible to enjoy.