Time to Apply for Pierson Park Community Garden Plots

It is time to apply for garden plot leases with MCSD!  3' x 10' garden plots at Pierson Park are available for any McKinleyville resident to lease.  Sign up now at the MCSD Parks and Recreation Office (707)839-9003.

Upcycled Potting Bench from Salvaged Wood Beam & Pallet

Upcycled Pallet Table



An enormous salvaged wood post and an old, sturdy pallet with plenty of character were repurposed to construct a potting bench at Pierson Park Community Garden.  After salvaging these items and designing the table, it was built by setting the post in the ground, then attaching a small piece of plywood to the post with screws and then attaching the pallet table top to the plywood piece with long screws.

Pallet Table Construction Detail



Upcycled Compost Bin

Upcycled Compost Bin

A lovely eco-savy new addition to the Humboldt Botanical Garden is just up the hill and off the beaten path.  An ingenious design-build project by June Walsh, it is a series of three compost bins made of recycled pallets and gopher wire.

Now I'm wondering if pallets, gopher wire and landscaping fabric could be utilized for upcycled raised planting beds.

How to Train Rambling Roses

With lovely photographic diagrams, Hartwood Roses Blog has one of the simplest, most informative explantions of how to train rambling roses that I have found.

How to Prune Roses for Maximum Display

How to Espalier

Design Inspiration for the Ornamental Community Garden

Placing a fruit bearing or flowering espaliered tree or vine on either side of the existing gate will give the garden an interesting vertical design element and symmetrical balance about the gate.  Alternatively one espaliered tree or vine could be placed near the back of the larger ornamental bed and function as a focal point.

Below, rows of mono-species plantings give this garden bed structure while framing the New American Planting Style at center.

In the contemporary French garden below, plantings of Phormium and Yucca add architecture and sculptural interest to the bed lending a place for the eye to rest while mingling perennial plantings such as Salvia and Perovskia and annuals such as Cosmos add color and a playful sense of rhythm.

Help Design the Ornamental Community Garden

Grant Opportunities for Community Gardens

• Mantis Awards for Community and Youth Gardens due 3/1/2011
• Charitable and educational garden projects that enhance the quality of life of their host communities
• Twenty-five programs will each receive a Mantis Tiller/Cultivator with border/edger and kickstand, and their choice of gas-powers 2-cycle engine or electric motor
• http://www.kidsgardening.com/grants/mantis.asp to apply
• Fruit Tree Planting Foundation's Communities Take Root Orchard Program open for 2011
• Communities compete in a nationwide vote to win a complete community orchard
• First 125 qualified applicants will be in the running to win a free orchard, including free community workshops on planting, pruning and caring for fruit trees
• http://www.ftpf.org to apply
• America Beautiful Fund ongoing
• Non-profit groups receive seed donations from major seed companies
• Sets of 50 packets of vegetables, flowers and herbs are available for the cost of postage and handling
• http://www.america-the-beautiful.org/free_seeds/index.php to apply
• Pepsi Refresh Project Grant ongoing
•  Any citizen or group with an idea that has a positive impact on society
• $5,000 to $250,000
• http://refresheverything.com to apply
• Youth Garden Grants Program/National Gardening Association and Home Depot ongoing
• Schools and community organizations with child-centered garden programs
• $500-$1,000
• http://www.kidsgardening.com/ygg.asp

(Source)

To the Community Garden Project

    

Beyond expanding and enhancing the Pierson Park Community Garden, which I think is a great thing.  I would really like to see the Community Garden Project (CGP) reach out to neighborhoods that have shared, unplanted landscaping beds and traffic circles to develop more community gardens in McKinleyville that would belong to specific neighborhoods; to see the CGP reach out to struggling or non-existant school gardens; and also to see the CGP look at areas like the Mid Town Trail that might be beautified by taking the area under its wing and developing such places into ornamental community gardens that might encourage involvement of neighbors in community gardening.

Seeking Input on the Design of the Ornamental Community Garden

Creating a cohesive design for the community garden beds that flank either side of the entrance gate is necessary if we want the garden to charm pedestrians walking by.  It needs to have a language that the eye of a passer by can understand.  The design thus far has been non-existant, haphazard at best with many different gardeners installing plants with little discussion of design.  All of the gardeners, myself included, were hoping this free planting style would yield some beauty and it it has in some cases, but overall I think the beds need more structure to succeed.  Some plants are quite successful in their places or quite beautiful but need to be moved or accompanied by other plants.  The plan is to install a new planting design near the middle of March.  If you have any input regarding what you would like to see in the front beds, please make a comment below or e-mail us at gardenmck@gmail.com if you have drawings or attachments like photographs that you would like to submit.  Most herbs planted in the bed, I plan to move or divide and plant in the community beds within the garden fence in order to protect them from animals.

Ornamental Garden Design Inspiration

HBGF Education Series

There are plenty of opportunities to learn about plants through the HBGF Education Series. 

Humboldt Botanical Garden 442-5139

HSU Extension Local Agriculture Course

From Farm to Fork:  LOCALLY DELICIOUS is "... food journey from farm to fork.  Each week this class will explore our community and the food that grows here.  Discuss food issues in our area, the rich history of food export and the concerns for continued availabilty of Locally Delicious foods..." (OLLI)

Thursdays, April 14th-28th from 3:30-5:30 p.m. $65, Instructors are The Heirloom Tomatoes

HSU Extension Landscape Design Course

OLLI The Art & Craft of Landscape Design, Wednesdays April 6th-April 27th & May 1st from 6-8 p.m. $85 with Donna Wildearth, Garden Visions Landscape Design.  I've had Donna as an instructor at CR.  She introduced me to landscape design history, contemporary landscape designers and design, design principles, how to draw and organize landscape plans and plant identification.  I highly recommend any of her courses.

Master Gardener Program Starts Soon!

Help grow the McKinleyville Community Garden Project, become a Master Gardener!

Master Gardener Training Program will meet Wednesdays from February 23rd-May 25th from 1-5 p.m. at the Humboldt County Cooperative Extension Office.  There is a $130 materials fee.  Fifty hours of volunteer work in educational activities is required to become a full Master Gardener.

Master Gardener Application 2011
Master Gardener Application Letter 2011

Garden Expansion

Led by Gary Rees, a Master Gardener, the garden is expanding.  Community garden vegetable rows will be added directly behind the existing garden adjacent to the bocce ball courts, sign up and take part.  For more information, contact MCSD (707)839-9003.

Humboldt Area Foundation Better Together Grassroots Grant

Time to Renew

It is time to apply for garden plot leases with MCSD!  3' x 10' garden plots at Pierson Park are available for any McKinleyville resident to lease.  Sign up now at the MCSD Parks and Recreation Office (707)839-9003.