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It’s been a while since I have posted about the preschool garden that I designed and installed. But it is nothing close to forgotten. I walk through it multiple times a week to check on how things are going or join a class in the garden for a lesson or exploration walk. Now that the veggies are coming in strong, at least one class a week goes out to harvest zucchini and cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes.
But now that many of the plants are reaching mature size, it feels like I am walking in a dream I once had. It feels like I just stepped into the 3-D rendering prints that I presented to the owner so long ago. But it is a very cool feeling to see something like this come to fruition. And I love seeing what the kids find when they go out there.
One thing that is especially fascinating to them right now is the cucumber trellis. We have lots of cucumbers coming in and they love the long, curvy shapes of the Suyo Japanese cucumber. The ones hanging down are easy to spot, but they love looking under the leaves on the trellis to find the babies just beginning. The trellis has been such a welcome addition to the garden this year and has given us so much more room to plant. Plus, I think the zucchini below like having some shelter from the sweltering summer sun.
We set aside multiple patches where we didn’t initially plant perennials because we had the kids come out and plant annual seeds. Zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, and of course the vegetables. Now, looking over the purple cascading verbena and the rainbow colors of zinnias that lead down to the herb spiral, the kids love talking about which zinnia flower came from their seed. They love finding the swallowtail caterpillars in the dill and parsley. And they love touching things.
Which is what it is all about. A sensory experience for them to get out and connect with nature. To understand how wonderful it is to help create life from a seed and see a vegetable grow and take it inside to eat it while it is still warm from the sun.
Kiss of Sun 