An Overdue Update

We've been so busy with different activities at Jardin Maravilloso the last few weeks, it's given me little time to report it all to you. Drip irrigation, more children's activities, a visit from local high school students... there's much to share in words and pictures! Plus, don't miss details about our upcoming Planting Night and Grill Out on July 17th! Details below!
First, during the last week of June, La Puerta had a large group of students participating in an art camp at the center. With the help of Amy Alley from the Arts Council, we had students assemble and paint bird houses that will soon adorn our garden.

Constructing our bird houses!

Carol Gray, director at La Puerta, helps the girls set up their houses.

Dylan focuses on putting details on his bird house.

Stephan does a great job adding lots of color!

The finished products!

Next, on Thursday, June 30th, I'm very excited to announce, we installed a wonderfully working drip irrigation stystem for the garden. We had a good group come out for the demonstration, including both new and familiar faces. With the guidance of Elyse Benson, the team installed the entire system in under three hours.

Elyse Benson discusses options for setting up the drip in the herb bed.

Linda and Tom Halsey work together to set up a line for our pumpkin patch.

Putting all ages to work!

Teresa makes sure all the tomatoes and peppers are getting good
access to the line, with the help of her daughter Arlette.

 

Yolanda tries to relax after the hard work, with the help of her son Javier,
joined by his younger brother Larry.

Finally, last Friday, July 8th, Piedmont Tech provided Jardin Maravilloso with some high school volunteers through its Upward Bound program, a program for high-achieving students who intend to be the first in their families to attend college. Despite the heat, the students accomplished a lot in just a few short hours.

One group of students work to assemble some new raised beds for the garden.

Working to clean out our cucumber and zucchini beds.

Spreading more mulch on the pathways.

Transporting the raised beds to the garden proved to be an interesting ride.

Our great group of kids from Upward Bound. Thank you Piedmont Tech!

Okay, just a little more to share. I wanted to point out a few more of our garden developments and plug our upcoming planting night.
First, with the help of Upward Bound, we have also installed and begun to fill our compost bin. We welcome any green material and kitchen scraps if you'd like to donate!

Also, Lauren Pinkston, a garden supporter and teacher at Lakeview, also helped us out by having this beautiful sign made with our garden rules and information.

Also, fencing is underway, thanks to the amazing Halsey family!

So, what's next? We'll be having a Planting Night on Sunday, July 17th at 6 p.m. at the garden site. Not only will we be planting, but we'll be eating! Come enjoy a grill out and celebrate all we've accomplished so far this year with Jardin Maravilloso. Bring your kids to help us fill and plant our newest raised beds. We'd love to have you there as we plant our fall crops and more! Questions? Please contact us at jardinmaravilloso@gmail.com!