Better late than never!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Parks & People Annual Greening Celebration!
On October 21, 2009 Shari' and Essence represented Unity Urban Garden at the Parks & People Foundation's Annual Greening Celebration. The Garden was one of four gardens nominated for the 2009 Best neighborhood Greening Grant project award. The nominees where chosen from local gardens who were awarded a Parks and People Greening
Grant. This grant will allow Unity Urban Garden to create permanent signage, add a shaded seating area, rain barrels and native plants.
During the celebration Unity Urban Garden was also awarded a signature "open spaces" two person bench from the TKF Foundation and a "Certification of Special recognition" from U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin. This was a lovely evening allowing Essence and Shari' to meet and exchange ideas with other community gardens. We also presented a poster presentation of the garden since its inception in April 2009 to the present.
Give thanks! :-)
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Winner of the Bench!
*GRIN
Unity Urban Garden was the winner of the lovely wooden bench we discussed in an earlier post. It was found that our garden is the most open and the bench will allow more energy around the garden. This is great and we are very thankful to the
Parks & People Foundation! We will post a picture of the bench as soon as it is delivered. :-)
Unity Urban Garden was the winner of the lovely wooden bench we discussed in an earlier post. It was found that our garden is the most open and the bench will allow more energy around the garden. This is great and we are very thankful to the
Parks & People Foundation! We will post a picture of the bench as soon as it is delivered. :-)
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Updates!
There is much going on at Unity Urban Garden. We have currently entered a contest with several other community gardens in Baltimore for a beautiful wooden bench, which we need very much in our garden! We had to send in answers to three questions explaining what the bench will be used for, how the community will benefit, and where it will be located.
We are also preparing a few of the herb raised beds for cover cropping, which we received the seeds from a fee give-away here in Baltimore City. Our resident horticulturist and Shari', went to Herring Run's Plant Day to get more plants. We got four berry bushes including blueberry, a hyacinth tree, hydrangeas, and more understory/shade plants for the shade garden. What it looks like in the garden now is little seedlings planted in seemingly random areas but they were planted in the best places for optimum growth/support, and beautification.
A neighbor was giving away two very pretty plants (one is a holly and the other one we are not sure of just yet but it is pretty and we can cut it back if need be as it grows or until we find out what it is). So, we dug up these two plants and have replanted them in the garden.
We also had more leaf mold and wood chips delivered thanks to the city!
As you can see from the picture we have a bit of an aphid invasion and will be using soap wash on them. Companion planting will definitely be in place even more so in the future to cut down on those pesky critters!
If we win the bench we will let you know!
The mimosa seedling is still available!
As it gets colder we will be putting the garden to rest as best we can. We will allow Mother Nature to do what she does. The garden is looking great and we are excited for next spring as we will have more experience and be prepared for what may or may not come!
We are also preparing a few of the herb raised beds for cover cropping, which we received the seeds from a fee give-away here in Baltimore City. Our resident horticulturist and Shari', went to Herring Run's Plant Day to get more plants. We got four berry bushes including blueberry, a hyacinth tree, hydrangeas, and more understory/shade plants for the shade garden. What it looks like in the garden now is little seedlings planted in seemingly random areas but they were planted in the best places for optimum growth/support, and beautification.
A neighbor was giving away two very pretty plants (one is a holly and the other one we are not sure of just yet but it is pretty and we can cut it back if need be as it grows or until we find out what it is). So, we dug up these two plants and have replanted them in the garden.
We also had more leaf mold and wood chips delivered thanks to the city!
As you can see from the picture we have a bit of an aphid invasion and will be using soap wash on them. Companion planting will definitely be in place even more so in the future to cut down on those pesky critters!
If we win the bench we will let you know!
The mimosa seedling is still available!
As it gets colder we will be putting the garden to rest as best we can. We will allow Mother Nature to do what she does. The garden is looking great and we are excited for next spring as we will have more experience and be prepared for what may or may not come!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Mimosa Seedling Needs a Loving Home
Anyone interested in a mimosa seedling? We have one at Unity Urban Garden that must be moved after it dies back. Check out the pictures of the seedling and the mimosa full grown. It would look lovely in a yard that has some space. Mimosas smell sooooo good, and have what I like to call, pink and fluffy flowers; it's definitely very feminine and pretty. :-)
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Last week, Shari' and Sandy cut branches on some of the trees in the shade garden area. The area is more open and spacious now. This past Saturday, we finished a bit more of the fence installation, moved the remaining wood chips to cover the perennials that border the outside of the fence, picked lots of weeds, and tended the compost bins. It has been lovely getting all of the rain and the plants seem to be happier than before. We will call the city to get more wood chips delivered.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Latest at Unity Urban Garden
Unity Urban Garden is coming along well. We have planted a lot of perennials and a few annuals along the borders of the garden as you can see below. We had the chance to attend a free plant and seed giveaway and we are happy to say most of the plants and seedlings we were gifted are healthy! We planted some winter vegetables such as broccoli and cabbage, but they are struggling a bit at this point.
The garden is really really coming together nicely and it is amazing what a few perennials will do! The four o'clock plants in the pics below smell absolutely amazing! They smell better than roses and this is the consensus of us all!
We have been feeding the plants an organic Atlantic fish emulsion every few weeks and the plants are looking healthier. We will definitely be putting down a cover crop over the herb raised beds over winter. We are happy to say we have not had much of an issue with the stray cats...knock on wood, and Mr. Berger has been a silent visitor to feed the cats every now and then. We hope he approves of the work we are doing.
Now it is time to focus more on preparation for the cold months.
Peace!
The garden is really really coming together nicely and it is amazing what a few perennials will do! The four o'clock plants in the pics below smell absolutely amazing! They smell better than roses and this is the consensus of us all!
We have been feeding the plants an organic Atlantic fish emulsion every few weeks and the plants are looking healthier. We will definitely be putting down a cover crop over the herb raised beds over winter. We are happy to say we have not had much of an issue with the stray cats...knock on wood, and Mr. Berger has been a silent visitor to feed the cats every now and then. We hope he approves of the work we are doing.
Now it is time to focus more on preparation for the cold months.
Peace!
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