summer in the garden

Our gardens have been full of life this summer!

New last year, our classes created some permanent gardens with the hopes of attracting pollinators.  It sure did work!

Here is a butterfly enjoying a zinnia...

...and some caterpillars munching on the fennel in the herb garden.

Maybe they were encouraged by the very hungry caterpillar overlooking our beds?

We had no idea our zinnias would grow taller than our butterfly bush!

This is a flashback to what it looked like the day we planted it:

Over the summer,

 we had some wonderful volunteer groups come out and help us weed the gardens and plant some new crops.  The weeds always flourish well in our Kindergarten garden during the summer, so this was a HUGE project.

We planted several fall crops, but without daily attention, the only ones to thrive were the beets....

...and the cabbage.

Sra. Melara also shared some of her kale and spinach plants with us.

 Here's a long view of the entire K garden.  In the foreground is the herb bed, with huge plants of basil, rosemary, and bee balm among others.

There are also two beds towards the back that didn't produce anything, and they were full of seeds!  Gardening is a great experiment for the kids...what works, what doesn't, how can we improve? 

Our little rabbit mascot was happy to come out of hiding in the weeds.  He's got a good view of those cabbage plants now.

Take a look at this jungle of sunflowers!

Towards the back left, there is a mammoth sunflower with drooping leaves, looking almost like a palm tree.  It stem is thick, the leaves are shady...

and the seeds from the flower head will be able to be used for next year's planting.

The sunflowers bring lots of creatures to our gardens....

...bumble bees, butterflies, ants, hornets (uh-oh!), and birds!!

There are plenty of seeds to share with the wildlife.

Our second grade garden always has a productive summer.  The okra bed is amazing and already drying out.

These become fun musical instruments once they are dry.

And there are still lots of bouquets of flowers to be made.

We are looking forward to the beginning of school, fall crops, and another chance to get our hands dirty, observe the nature around us, and watch the miracle of plants growing right before our eyes.