We have been putting a lot of work into the front area of our community gardens. We would like a nice inviting grass area with the garden plots behind. And nice grassy paths between all the plots.
Its wonderful how native grasses seed themselves naturally if an overgrown area is mowed. We have just finished leveling sufficiently to run a lawn mower. Here's the view just after the very first mowing. Isn't it beautiful!!
We will be holding a work day tomorrow to continue working on the grass. I haven't done a very good job of circulating information on this event, but it will be held from 10 am -12 noon tomorrow (Saturday). Please come and help us. Bring weed whackers lawn mowers, clippers, or rakes.
We will flatten the front area at the far right of the photo - in front of the new plots. There are rock and debris piles to remove and dirt pile to flatten. We will also mow/weed whack/clip the grass in the paths. I have done about 1/3 of the paths so far, and it would be good to get then all done this weekend.
I enjoyed seeing a whole flock of baby bluebirds foraging in the freshly mowed area the other day. A clutch of 4 or 5 was recently hatched from a box in the meadow. Bluebirds like areas with short grass and perching posts. Our mowed entrance not only looks neat and is a good place for garden events, but it's also a valuable wildlife habitat.
Other reasons to come and help out with the path work: I will bring FREE COFFEE and its fun to work together with other gardeners.
Another event to mention is the Solstice Garden Tours that will be held on Sunday June 20 at the Belmont Victory Gardens. An informal event. Our first time trying this. This will run 11 am - 1 pm. Come enjoy the results of the path and front area work we do the day before!
5 comments:
Baby blue birds! How nice.
enjoy your day! Why are they called 'victory' gardens? victory over whom? when?
Well, the victory was that we could feed ourselves in the US, family by family, by private gardens back in the 40's. This helped to allow US transportation and other infrastructure to be diverted to the war in Europe.
Victory gardens were created by many Americans. More than 20 million victory gardens were planted. The Belmont Gardens were begun during this time. Fruit and vegetables harvested in the US in home and community plots was estimated to be 9-10 million tons, an amount equal to all commercial production of fresh vegetables. So, the program made a difference. Here's a site describing victory gardens
My dad tells me about his difficult war years in the Netherlands. This is one way the US did their part.
(Would be nice if our simple gardening could help the current world problems....)
Fascinating stuff Kathy. My late Father was in the Royal Navy on the North Atlantic convoys escorting the merchant ships from the USA back to Europe. It was about that time in England that Allotments came into their own for the same reason! Fascinating history.
Sorry we couldn't make it, Kathy. We did our first of three days of moving on Saturday. I'm sure we'll get down there to do some weed whacking in the near future.
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