A Petite School Butterfly Garden

Another project I was working on recently was installing a small butterfly garden at my children's school garden. We had a limited budget and small space but lots of enthusiasm!

Here is the space before... lots of weeds and too much shade. However, there was one existing milkweed plant. It always amazes me how they manage to grow in less than ideal circumstances.

The children helped clear the area of debris and weeds. We added nectar (zinnias, marigolds, pentas) and host plants (milkweed and parsley), mulch, and bricks for edging. Some of the milkweed plants were transferred from other parts of the garden where they had just popped up.

The children were so eager to work in the garden - it was impressive. And they were so excited to find caterpillars in the garden just two weeks later. Success!

Looking for caterpillars

Our Kitchen Garden Part IV

Ok, I know that June is not the typical time of the year to start your vegetable garden in 9B. But I was not going to let my new raised beds sit empty until the Fall planting season - that would be torture! So I tried to plant things that would hopefully tolerate the heat and bugs.

I planted lots of herbs: Italian, purple, and mini boxwood basils, oregano, thyme, common and chocolate mint, flat leaf parsley, rosemary, and sage.

I also planted my favorite vegetables: tomatoes (Mortgage Lifter, Celebrity, Purple Cherokee, and Sweet 'N' Neat), eggplants (Black Beauty and Japanese), peppers (Thai Long Sweet Peppers), collards (Georgia Southern),  bush beans (Dragon Tongue and Royalty Purple Pod), and zucchini.

The zucchini did not do well - too much rain brought on powdery mildew. I tried spraying it with diluted skim milk which helped. However, it became a big battle and I decided planting it was just not a good idea. The Italian and purple basils are hanging in there. I'm getting enough to enhance my sauces and sandwiches but not enough for pesto. Surprisingly, the boxwood basil is thriving in the heat and attracting lots of bees. The rest of the herbs are growing nicely. I have picked some Celebrity, Purple Cherokee and Sweet 'n' Neat tomatoes. No mortgage lifters yet. The collards are coming along but getting chewed on by something that I can't see. The peppers are growing slowly but surely. I had to replant those seeds because I planted them too deep the first time. The bean plants are flowering but no beans yet. The Black Beauty eggplants have not set fruit -  it may be too hot. The Japanese eggplants are  prolific and we have enjoyed many eggplants for dinner.

Lastly, our large pot arrived and Allison planted blueberries in it. She also lined the back fence with raspberry plants.

As you can imagine, I have been very busy with the vegetable garden but enjoying every minute of it! I'm already thinking about the next vegetable season!