Summer in Springdale’s School Gardens!
By Brandy Blaylock
What a bountiful season we’ve been having in the school gardens planted by B’s Junior Gardeners this spring! To date, our gardens have produced 35.5 pounds of produce which has been donated to the S.O.U.L. food pantry in Springdale, who is feeding our local community.
B’s Junior Gardeners is grateful for the donations of plant pots from a nearby floral wholesaler and the new beds built by BSA Troop 417 member Kaitlyn Higgins and her team! It is through these contributions and continued maintenance by Master Gardener Volunteer, Brandy Blaylock, that has enabled this year’s bounty! Onions, green beans, lettuces, potatoes, and carrots are all coming due to harvest, while new bush beans, squash, carrots, and more have been sown to keep the season going!
Our butterfly gardens at the schools are in full bloom now, with many new native plants attracting a diversity of pollinators for our students to observe when they return! These new plantings are being introduced annually to replace the invasive plant species being removed from our spaces and are compliments of a few too many plant sales and some local gardeners who have shared their extras with Brandy; she is actively propagating these plants for both school’s gardens.
As our Junior Garden Club gears up for another school year of education in the gardens, we are looking for school supply donations and maintenance volunteers! If you are interested in helping or have native plants that you’d like to share, please contact Brandy at bsjrgs@gmail.com. We’re on Facebook, Twitter, and our webpage is located at https://bsjuniorgardeners.org/.
- B’s Junior Gardeners is a registered Junior Garden Club, run by Brandy Blaylock, serving students at two schools in the Princeton City School District. While enriching students’ science education in a garden classroom, they are provided Ohio Department of Education aligned curriculum, introduced to nature in a safe environment, and encouraged to steward the natural world around them. -