Did you know that neighbors and friends volunteer and take care of the following gardens and garden plots that beautify our neighborhood?
- Washington Triangle (at Clinton Springs and Washington Avenues)
- Seasongood Park (at the corner of Reading and Clinton Springs)
- Marion Sign and Strip (near Dana and Reading)
- The North Avondale Sign
- The Roundabout Garden
- Kessler Memorial
- Pamela Smitherman Memorial
- The Victory Parkway Garden beds (more information is coming this Summer about the Victory Parkway Garden transition)
These are a lot of spaces that provide a welcome home to each of you daily! You can help keep these gardens in tip top shape by volunteering to weed or plant them, at your convenience, or by donating for their upkeep. While two of the gardens are supported by the Cincinnati Parks, the rest need funds to keep our volunteers from using their own money. Including irrigation, our annual community garden expenses are about $1500. You can make a donation to NANA and earmark it “Beautification” and reach out to me or Judy Evans to sign up to come dig in the dirt! All are most welcome! You will learn more about our garden volunteers and Beautification donors in upcoming issues of NANA News.
had the pleasure of attending a lecture by Molly Hendry, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, this past winter. You may want to google her or check out her YouTube tutorials. She is most inspiring. And, for those of us without professional landscape design support and trying to design our own flower borders, she suggests the following: IMAGINE what you want each season to feel like. IDENTIFY your favorite plants you want to incorporate. Make a list and plan for them as seasonal surprises or plant them in a large mass. LAY OUT your larger drifts – the bit impact layer, the long season bloomers. WEAVE in seasonal thrills. THREAD in a touch of whimsy throughout – add in your personality!! Think of daisies dancing the length of the border. And, finally, OBSERVE – take notes of what worked and ideas for next year! I am currently suspending the “yard of the month” but will be on the lookout for gardens of note, especially hand done, for future issues of NANA News.
One neighbor shares her experience with Winter Sowing—
Michelle Ernst (Red Bud Place) gave Winter Sowing a try this year. This planting method starts in the winter and involves filling water jugs (or any container) with potting soil, then sowing seeds, sealing the jugs, taking the tops off and leaving outside in the cold months. The rain and snow usually keep the soil moist enough (if not, water!), and the seeds are put through a natural cold stratification. Then, as the air warms in the spring, the seeds germinate. Seedlings that follow are strong and hardy by having been outdoors. Michelle started most of her 100 jugs (generously donated by Anne Marie Brandt) in January and February, so start collecting jugs now if interested. To learn more, please visit the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/wintersown
https://upstategardenersjournal.com/winter-sowing-a-gardeners-winter-delight/
Jolene Struebbe. Beautification Chair