Workday and Water

Master Gardeners and community volunteers came out in force for the March 3 Carolina Children's Garden workday, overseen by Workday Coordinators Mary Kelly and Joyce Bibby.  The Three Bears' reflecting pool was tidied; new plantings were installed around Pooh's Corner, Mr. McGregor's Garden, Old MacDonald's Farm, and the Alphabet Fence; the triceratops in the Mesozoic Memories Dinosaur Garden received a fresh coat of paint; and the blossoming daffodils, yellow bells, pansies, and budding fruit trees were admired by all.

Freshly-painted triceratops

On the day following the Master Gardener workday, Mr. Joe Hudson, property manager at the Clemson University Sandhill Research and Education Center, and his team of groundskeepers dismantled a raised bed in Growing Healthy in preparation for a new garden design to be implemented later this year.  Many thanks to Mr. Joe and his crew for their hard work!

Growing Healthy after removal of a raised bed

Many changes have come to the Garden this winter, and amongst the most exciting is this: WATER.  Every gardener knows how important it is to have access to water in a Garden, and while we strive to be water-wise at the Children's Garden, having ready access to a reliable water supply is going to make a huge difference in the Garden this spring.  We at the Children's Garden are so grateful to everyone who made these improvements possible!

WATER!!!

Getting the Garden Off the Ground...with Pot Towers!

A beautiful new pot tower has been added to Growing Healthy at the Carolina Children's Garden!

The Growing Healthy Garden is growing, well, up!  Master Gardener Crystal Masterson designed, created, and installed a stunning pot tower in this space devoted to healthy living.  Colorful pots painted with polka dots and stripes now boast an array of delicious and nutritious plants, including strawberries, parsley, and thyme. 

Master Gardener Crystal Masterson constructing the pot tower

Pot towers are easy to construct:  Crystal's tower began with a 5' length of iron rebar that she pounded through the drainage hole in the bottom of a large painted pot and into the ground below.  She covered the bottom of the pot with broken cardboard egg cartons to help with drainage, then filled the pot with soil.  The next pot was slightly smaller, and it was threaded onto the rebar through its drainage hole and balanced at an angle on top of the pot beneath.  More egg cartons and soil were added, then a third pot was threaded onto the tower and balanced at an angle...and so forth and so on until the tower was complete!

We are very grateful to Crystal for this beautiful (and functional!) addition to the Children's Garden!  Visit our Facebook page to see more photos of this and other Children's Garden Projects:  Facebook Page