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Comment by Melissa Lessard on January 9, 2011 at 1:59pm

Hello all!  New member here; not sure if people still pop-in and check this group, but it appeals to me regardless.  The school I'm associated with has both a veggie garden and a "Serenity Garden" (a place to sit, teach, learn, & enjoy.  One great idea that involved the whole elementary school was an art project; the art teacher, who is a tile artist, purchased cement benches and animal forms (frog, goose, rabbit, etc) and the classes each tiled the benches and animals to add some extra flair & personality to the garden.  They turned out great!  I know the school also did a fund-raiser by auctioning stepping stones in the garden & families could then engrave messages, quotes, names/dates, etc. on the stone- very nice touch!  Hope to see any other fun thinking-about-spring-gardening ideas on these cold winter days!

Comment by Rosa--USDA Z 10/Sunset Z 22 on May 31, 2010 at 9:21pm

Anyone still around? Please tell me about your school garden. I have news about our garden, but just not sure whether anyone is reading. Hee hee.

Comment by Rosa--USDA Z 10/Sunset Z 22 on March 7, 2010 at 4:37pm

Ooh! Yes, Julie! Native is the way to go. First of all, you can tell them that they will get more birds and butterflies with native plants because butterflies in the area will be looking for these to lay eggs and to eat from. Also, they are much easier to care for since they are naturally adapted to weather in your area. In addition, they can learn about their local ecosystem(s) in science class and this way create habitats for native wildlife.

Found this link for the Minnesota Native Plant Society. That may give you some ideas.

Please keep us updated on your progress! :)

Comment by Julie P on March 3, 2010 at 8:11pm

Just been asked to assist in planning some teaching gardens @ one of the schools I work at. Interest in Butterfly Garden, Veg Garden & they are inquiring about a Tulip garden - however, I am trying to steer them away from that and hope to mix in Native plants, etc along with tulips.

Looking for suggestions!

Comment by Rosa--USDA Z 10/Sunset Z 22 on January 16, 2010 at 4:30pm

As I continue to learn about gardening, particularly intensive gardening since our school has about 1700 students, I have looked into square foot gardening. I have been able to give each of my students a square foot plot of land in one of two beds that they will be responsible for.

I will be using the following squares to help my students plan out what they will plant. After figuring out how much room a plant will need to grow, they can then use these squares to place their seed in the middle and make sure that other plants won't be too close or far from it. Now, I just need to find out about companion and succession planting to maximize our small plots of land.
Squares for Square Foot Gardening Key2.doc

Comment by Rosa--USDA Z 10/Sunset Z 22 on October 31, 2009 at 8:07pm

Am I the only one that needs funding for our garden? I doubt it. So here goes a small list of funding possibilities.
1. Donors Choose This is a very easy way to get funding for all sorts of projects, but you must be a teacher.

2. iLoveSchools.com I have not actually received any funding from this organization as I just found it, but what the heck, we have nothing to lose, right?

3. Home Depot Building Healthy Communities Grant Program This was how I was able to get our garden started. Home Depot is awesome and I can't sing the praises of this grant program enough.

4. National Gardening Association Grant I have not applied for this, but it looks promising and not just for schools.

How did I find these? Google! If you need help finding funding for your specific project, I would be glad to help you google. :)

Anyone else have any suggestions?

Comment by Rosa--USDA Z 10/Sunset Z 22 on October 24, 2009 at 2:48pm

Thank you, Gloria! The kids absolutely do love it!

Comment by Gloria In The Garden on October 22, 2009 at 3:02pm

School gardens are excellent and grow our future gardeners. Children are so open to new ideas in gardening and how to protect our land and resources. Keep up the good work all you school gardeners ... we need more like you!!

Comment by Rosa--USDA Z 10/Sunset Z 22 on September 21, 2009 at 9:55pm

We have been back to school for two weeks. My students are already in love with the garden. I am also volunteering with our after school program and doing gardening twice a week. The kids love it!

They are having a blast composting, double digging, eating the sunflower seeds (ha!) and of course playing with the water. Has anyone figured out how to manage that? It's absolutely amazing how much energy they have!

Comment by Rosa--USDA Z 10/Sunset Z 22 on August 30, 2009 at 6:39pm

Barb, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I can't wait to read and see what everyone does with their fall gardens.

I have added some pictures to my profile showing some of what we have done in our garden over the summer. Please take a look as there is one flower I need help identifying! :)

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