Before the end of the school year, I appreciated some small gardens at local schools and neighbors. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did.
The first garden is located in the middle of the school grounds. The halls of the school go around it on 3 sides. As staff and students walk around the halls, they can see the garden in the middle. For me, walking by the garden is quite a rejuvenating experience.
Not all gardens are kept up. Here is one that could really use a little more attention.
Things are not always as they seem. In the next garden I was really impressed with the beautiful color of the lettuce pictured here. However, once I tasted one of the leaves, I regretted my decision. This variety is apparently very sensitive to the heat and becomes very bitter.
The first garden is located in the middle of the school grounds. The halls of the school go around it on 3 sides. As staff and students walk around the halls, they can see the garden in the middle. For me, walking by the garden is quite a rejuvenating experience.
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| Flowering Fava Beans |
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| Onion Flower |
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| Borage |
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| Borage and Nasturtium |
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| Orange Nasturtiums |
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| Sprouting Cauliflower with Aphids |
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| More sprouting Cauliflower |
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| Interesting shape of the Cauliflower as it blossoms |
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| One last look |
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| A bed of onions. |
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| Peas |
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| Black eyed Susan? |
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| Favas with seed pods. |
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| A close look at the fava beans |
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| This bean is sideways - or is it a sideways picture? |
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| Fava beans are prolific! |
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| Another look at the prolific fava beans |
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| One last last fava picture |
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| These strawberry plants are doing quite well. |
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| A closer look at some mouth-watering strawberries |
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| I'm resisting the urge to pick these |
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| One last look at the strawberry plants |
The second garden is located on the west side of a school, near the younger grades. There are plenty of interesting things to see here as well.
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| An assortment of winter vegetables |
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| Flowering Kale |
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| Swiss Chard anyone? |
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| The sign says it all. |
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| Potato Plants |
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| Flowering Carrots |
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| Another bed of assorted veggies. |
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| Some sweet pea flowers |
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| Some radishes |
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| Some kind of celery plant sprouting up from the roots. |
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| Another celery plant sprouting up from the walkway |
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| Celery again. |
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| Celery and assorted veggies. |
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| Swiss Chard and other veggies. |
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| Cale and flowering parsley or fennel |
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| Chard |
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| Now the strawberry patch is being infested by the celery. |
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| Some strawberries are growing. |
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| Ripening strawberries |
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| One last look at this garden |
Not all gardens are kept up. Here is one that could really use a little more attention.
A neighbor of mine always has a very well planned-out garden. Here are some pictures from his front yard.
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| Zucchini of some sort. |
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| The color is just exceptional. |
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| The zucchini continues to grow. |
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| My neighbor's tomato plants. |
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| Some wildflowers in a lawn in the front of a school. |
Things are not always as they seem. In the next garden I was really impressed with the beautiful color of the lettuce pictured here. However, once I tasted one of the leaves, I regretted my decision. This variety is apparently very sensitive to the heat and becomes very bitter.
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| A mix of spinach, lettuce and carrots |
As you walk around your neighborhood, I hope that you will be able to encounter some beautiful gardens like these. Even if we are not enthusiastic about getting our hands dirty in the soil, vegetable gardening is good for all of us in so many ways.
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| One last look at the purple kale from the second school garden |
