Lovely Ladybugs . . .

Winter weather might keep us indoors, but we're still having lots of garden-related fun! This past week, our pre-K classes completed a unit on ladybugs. They learned that ladybugs play an important role in the garden by eating aphids, which eat the plants. We read a few ladybug-focused books (including Eric Carle's The Grouchy Ladybug - everyone's favorite!) and practiced math skills by counting ladybugs and their spots. We also made some super ladybug hats which the kids didn't want to take off!



Pre-K kids paint their ladybug hats.












Adding detail with spots, googly eyes, and pipe cleaner antennae . . .












Two pre-K students show off their lovely ladybugs.












A pre-kindergardener is transformed into a ladybug, no pupa involved.












Watch out, aphids: we've got a roomful of ladybugs ready for lunch!

Happy New Year!

City Blossoms is gearing up for what promises to be our busiest year yet! We're in the process of expanding our garden classes at local schools, breaking ground for a new community garden in Shaw, and planning for the upcoming RootingDC conference in February. We'll keep you posted on all our projects!

Our fourth graders at DC Bilingual Public Charter School have been learning about herbs. They have participated enthusiastically in growing, harvesting, drying, and learning about the various uses (culinary, medicinal, etc.) of these fabulous plants. To celebrate the New Year, some of our students paused to reflect on their herbal activities of 2009 and their garden hopes for 2010:

“I loved when we took the herbs and hung them up to dry. I liked doing jobs like taking the leaves off the stems. My favorite was when we made the Tummy Soother tea. My stomach was really hurting that day, and it made me feel better. Before garden class, I never knew that lemon balm and other herbs were really herbs – I thought they were just normal plants that you can’t eat.

I hope that we get to plant flowers and herbs in our garden." -Kessya



“My favorite activity for the herbs was anything with eating because I’m always hungry! I also liked cutting the herbs and cutting them off the stems. The mint tea was my favorite to drink. Before garden class, I didn’t know that mint came in so many flavors.

I hope we get to make mint ice cream!” -Alex



“I love the herbs, because after growing them, we get to eat them and do things with them! We made tea, and we also made cream cheese with chives, which is my favorite herb.

I hope that we can make pizza in the oven with the herbs we grew.” -Julissa



“I like that we learn how to take care of plants and trees – they’re important because they give us oxygen and we can’t have food without plants. My favorite was when we made tea, because the tea was so good! My favorite herb is cebollitas [chives] because it tastes so funny in your mouth.

I hope we get to make pizza with the herbs!” -Marilyn




Fourth graders at DC Bilingual remove dried oregano leaves from the stems.



Students carefully cut dried lemongrass leaves into small pieces for use in cooking.



Fourth graders used the herbs they harvested to brew two kinds of herbal tea.



Our tea connoisseurs sampled both Tummy Soother tea and Relax tea. (They concluded that Tummy Soother, with its spearmint and ginger flavors, was the general favorite.)



They also enjoyed preparing and eating Swiss chard wraps seasoned with their favorite herbs - yum!

Butterfly Watch 2009

It is exciting and calming at the same time to see these beautiful winged visitors in our gardens each summer. The kids become hushed and focused as soon as they drop down onto a drooping blossom and start squealing happily once they take flight. A Monarch and Tiger Swallowtail have been sipping from our CentroNia butterfly bushes regularly this month, and I hope they've found safe places to lay their eggs too! Our gardens receive a few more quiet visitors, such as the ever-growing family of birds who mischieviously get caught in the grapevines while stealing fruit or a clump of slimy slugs cooling off in the dark corners of the compost piles. This year we've learned with our young gardeners to appreciate our visitors a little more, and hope that pesky ones (aphids, rats, cucumber beetles) will find another garden to bother.

Come and Get IT!

We have a great event coming up - on September 7th we will have a big potluck celebration at Girard Garden. Bring a dish to share and try out some of the garden's harvest prepared specially by a guest chef! It is also Girard's first birthday, and we want to celebrate with the whole neighborhood.

Yay Rebecca!

Rebecca and I went to NYC a couple of months ago to help out with Fritz Haeg's Hudson Guild Project, a children's edible garden. It was a long, dirty day (including a roundtrip from chelsea to the bronx) but by the end we had made lots of new friends and learned some cool new garden techniques. The even was sponsored by Ovation TV and Gardenburger, and you can see some video below with an excellent soundbite from Rebecca!

Savoring Summertime

Summer is halfway over and one thing we have learned for sure is that kids everywhere love to garden, and even more, they love to EAT what they grow! This summer we have worked with kids from AA Lead, Bancroft Elementary, Vietnamese American Cultural Services Center, Columbia Heights Youth Club, Community of Hope, CentroNia, Garrison Middle School, CentroNia's pre-K incentive program and countless neighborhood "drop-ins" at Girard Children's Garden. Almost every child (over 350 participate weekly) has had a chance to prepare a recipe or take a bite of the fresh produce grown at each garden. A big hit this summer were spring rols, using basil,chives, carrots and cucumbers homegrown by the kids. All of the kids at the CentroNia programs and Girard Children's Garden have documented recipes with drawings and writings, and soon there will be a cookbook to share with everyone! Our open times at Girard Garden (every Monday 5-7, Wednesdays 4-6)have been the most fun - as the sun sets lower in the sky, kids trickle in from Girard Playground to water, plant seeds, paint, play games, dig for worms in the compost, chew on mint leaves and chop up cucumbers and squash for snacking.
Some things to look forward to:
1. Soon the corn at Girard Garden will be ready to harvest! Our awesome volunteer Dad Luis has been caring for the 8 ft tall stalks like his own children and they are going to be TASTY!
2. Soap sales! The 3rd and 4th graders at CentroNia are making herbal soaps using herbs from the CentroNia garden. There will be a sale in late August, and hopefully a stand at the Mt. Pleasant Farmer's market. Stay tuned!
3. September 7th - Eat-In and 1st year celebration at Girard Garden! Bring a dish and celebrate the garden as well as healthy foods for healthier kids on Labor Day. There will be lunch and the distribution of our Girard Garden cookbook (made by the kids).


So many things are happening, and we definitely could use some help! If you are interested in volunteering any time, please contact Lola at lola@cityblossoms.org.

In other news, check out Capital Area Food Bank's new program for gardeners (below). This sounds like a great way to get local fantastic front yard farmers to help out with any surplus from their efforts.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

If you have extra bounty from your garden this summer, consider an alternative to gifting all your neighbors with bags of zucchini. The Capital Area Food Bank wants you to donate that extra produce to your neighborhood social organization (food pantry, soup kitchen, summer kids care program), and we’ll show you how! When you sign up for our newly launched Grow A Row program, we will pair you with a social organization in your neighborhood. We also provide a nifty yard sign and receipts for tax deductions. Fresh produce is an essential component of a healthy diet, but is not frequently donated to soup kitchens or food pantries due to its perishable nature. Grow A Row is an excellent opportunity to bridge community, build relationships, and provide people of low income with access to fresh, local produce. To sign up or for more information contact Anika Roth or Jody Tick at growarow@cfoodbank.org or call us at (202) 526-5344.

School's always in with City Blossoms

Our schedule is about to do a big flip flop now that school is ending and summer gardening workshops are gearing up. Summer may mean chill time for other teachers, but for us it's the best time to be working - and eating! This summer we have lots of tasty treats growing - peppers, herbs, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, carrots, canteloupes, beans, spinach, edamame, and strawberries to begin with. We hope that we can get some good recipes tried out in all of our workshops, and plan on making a big community cookbook by the time fall hits.
The tasty treats aren't just for the kids! On June 27th, there will be a workshop on herbs - preserving and using them for food - at Girard Garden for adults. If you have always wondered what to do with the rest of that basil - after making pesto, of course - or how to dry out your rosemary and lavender, you should come on by! It's free!
Happy Gardening,
City Blossoms