The SHARE Homeschool Garden Club
THE GARDEN CLUB
For many years, Jeff and Lisa Bader have wanted to make the garden area at Homelink a beautiful place to visit. Many parents have also spoken to us about making use of this area to teach their children how a little tender care can make a sad place into a happy one.
Well, we are pleased to announce the formation of
THE SHARE HOMESCHOOL GARDEN CLUB!
Right now we are in the planning stage of looking for families who would like to adopt a small area of the garden and give it their special flair! If you are interested, please send Cathy an email and she will assign that numbered space to your family. Even though Homelink is not open everyday, you are invited to come to the garden at any time and work on your little part of it. We still have a few bugs to work out, like a water resource, but we expect to get that done soon.
Please don't ask Cathy any planting questions--she is useless in that department! But Lisa Bader (and Jeff) are our experts!
Not sure what to do with your little patch? Contact Lisa
at [email protected] or text her at 636-375-6793.
UPDATE: We have been getting questions asking for more details about this, but it is really pretty simple.
Below is a little note from Lisa Bader that might clear up any confusion...
Garden Club
Garden Area #1
#1. This is the spot to the left as you walk in the chain-link fence gate… There is a birdbath-type piece of statuary… And lots of leaves! The leaves need to be bagged for compost, and any trash, cleaned up… The statutory could be cleaned… I forgot to check if it will hold water or not… But it looks pretty dry… If there is a way to make it functional as a birdbath, a family could look into doing that or it could be possible to use it as a planter or a place to hold some plants in pots… keep in mind the hot dry location… Something like sedum/ succulents or heat-loving annuals like Moss Rose/portulaca might be best?
Garden Club
Garden Area #2
#2. This is the spot between the corner spot and the good sized shrub… Some leaves will need to be bagged and some weeds will need to be pulled along the pathway… I don’t know that this is a good place to put any plants in the ground although it might be possible if they are rock garden types… Or a family could prepare a nice planter to sit in the corner between the building in the shrub with some heat, loving annuals or perennials?
Garden Club
Garden Area #3
# 3. This is the spot to the right of the good sized shrub, to the edge of the building, where the two types of rock meet… I didn’t dig to see if they were separated by anything… if there is a family who just wants to tidy, but not add plants this might be one of those spots… Otherwise, it needs to be cleared and weeded like the other sections… it could be that students might find some extra bricks or edging and make a more definitive edge between the two kinds of rocks… Also, someone could use this place to add a planter with some flowering annuals or perennials or a fairy rock garden scene… This spot might get a little bit more shade, but still would probably be fairly hot…
Garden Club
Garden Area #4
4. As with the other garden spots, the leaves need to be collected and bagged, and the area needs to be weeded… There is a statue and three concrete shell set shaped planters… I put some sedum in as placeholders, but it’s not the best long-term sedum for those places because it will just spread like crazy… feel free to pull it out and replace it with your own choice of succulents or rock garden plants…
Garden Club
Garden Area #5
5. OK, this is probably a spot for someone who can ID the two major shrubs here and would be familiar with how to prune them or care for them? They seem to be a bit wild at the moment… Also, as with the other garden spots, some leaf collection and weeding will be necessary… also this would be another spot where a planter garden could be a very nice addition… One thought is a rectangular longer one that would maybe hide the conduit or whatever that is on the wall…?
Garden Club
Garden Area #6
6. Whoever takes this garden spot might want to collaborate with whoever takes garden spot #5 or maybe do them together? This one could use some creative and respectful landscaping, possibly… It needs to be cleared and weeded like the other sections, but it is a bit awkward because it is between the one shrub that needs some attention and the back of the statue… I’m sure somebody will have a wonderful idea for it or just be OK with cleaning it really nicely?
Garden Club
Garden Area #7
7. This longer strip along the pathway needs to be cleared of weeds and leaves, and possibly some of the rocks are going to have to be coaxed back from the pathway… This would be sufficient, or a family could choose to add a little bit of a edging so that the rocks would not continue to go onto the path… Also, I could see where it would work to dig down into the rock covering and add some rock garden grasses like blue fescue or maybe some hardy stonecrop sedum?
Garden Club
Garden Area #8
8. This spot needs to be cleared of a lot of leaves and some weeds as well… This might be the spot for someone who would like to do a little extra planting… The statue might need to be brushed off a bit… There are some basin-like spots in the rock wall that were, I think, initially supposed to be places for water to pool when the system was working… In case it might work again I don’t really want to plant these with dirt but they could be a place to arrange some pots with drought-hardy plants surrounded by maybe some moss to hide the pots? Down below in the dirt where the fountain comes out in the center, there are a number of bulbs planted already, and I think some thyme (trying to remember what I put there), but some sun-hardy and drought-tolerant flowering perennials would be beautiful!
Garden Club
Garden Area #9
9. There is not a lot to do with this spot beside cleaning and clearing leaves… But the Holly could stand some pruning and care… And the hydrangea might need some fertilizing? This might be a fun spot for a little fairy garden scene on the stepped rocks for kids to play with when they visit the garden?
Garden Club
Garden Area #10
10. This spot needs clearing also… Leaves and weeds and magnolia buds… I don’t think there are any plants here that need to be kept… This would be another nice spot for a planter in the corner… I think the spot gets a little bit more shade so that is something to consider if plants are purchased… if there are families who are interested in fairy garden play scenes, this would be another spot that could be nice for one…
Garden Club
Garden Area #11
11. This spot needs to be cleared of a lot of decaying magnolia leaves, and buds and may need to be raked a bit… I’m thinking there’s enough shade in this spot that once those are gone, a nice low growing mounding ground cover plus some spring bulbs plus some shade annuals and a little rock or brick edge could be nice? I have seen this spot get a bit soggy so that’s something to keep in mind when choosing plants…
Garden Club
Garden Area #12
12. As with the other spots, leaves and weeds and magnolia buds need to be cleared and bagged… They can be used for compost at your location or just disposed of… or if you find a way to use them as mulch, that is also a possibility… There are some plants in the section already so you can use them or rearrange them and add to them… This is a pretty shady location… just something to keep in mind when using plants… The label should tell you if they are shade or sun lovers… Also, the path tiles might need to be straightened and if there is a very low growing ground cover that would go between them, that might look nice or some edging could be added? I think some creative planting might disguise the necessary drain pipe…
Garden Club
Area #13
13. This section already has some lovely hostas growing in a line… If all the debris could be removed, and some mulch put down around them, and maybe some shade flowers, this spot could look really sweet! There are also a couple volunteer trees that I’m not sure should be kept… probably need to be ID’d and taken out…
Garden Club
Garden Area #14
14. If there is someone who would like to just do a very small planting in a one of these seashell shaped stone planters, this might be the place for it! There is some sedum growing in here already, but it could be put in the ground, either in front of this planter or somewhere else in the garden…
Garden Club
Garden Area #15
15. Ditto from garden section #13…This section already has some lovely hostas growing in a line… If all the debris could be removed, and some mulch put down around them, and maybe some shade flowers, this spot could look really sweet!
Garden Club
Garden Area #16
16. This corner has a few plants in it that could be used possibly but it just needs some TLC! Cleaning and clearing and maybe a trio of nice perennials that work in the shade?
Garden Club
Garden Area #17
17. I think this spot might have a daylily plus some daffodils that are dormant behind the daylily, and I think I see a violet… This spot could use clearing of all the leaves and magnolia buds and some creative imagining to deemphasize another plastic pipe for drainage…
Garden Club
Garden Area #18
18. You might say the spot is literally between rocks and a hard place… I think there might be a few good plants, and a little bit more light than the beds that are more directly under the tree, but the soil is kind of hard and could use probably a little help or maybe additions of some good soil to build it up and then mulch, maybe around whatever plants you choose… or perhaps, if someone from one of the other spots is not using their little stone sign, maybe one would look good here?
Garden Club
Garden Area #19
19. We will have to be careful planting around the tree roots because we should not cover them! We don’t want to risk any damage to this magnolia in the least! I’m thinking a simple, moss or low growing shady ground cover? But here is an link to an article that addresses it more fully if you want to take this on as a challenge…Planting Around Tree Roots - Harmony in the Garden this spot extends on the left over to the front of the bench… I’ve loosely designated three sections around the tree so you can find out from Cathy who should know who has the other sections if you want to connect with them on anything?
Garben Club
Garden Area #20
20. We will have to be careful planting around the tree roots because we should not cover them! We don’t want to risk any damage to this magnolia in the least! I’m thinking a simple, moss or low growing shady ground cover? But here is a link to an article that addresses it more fully if you want to take this on as a challenge…Planting Around Tree Roots - Harmony in the Garden. I’ve loosely designated three sections around the tree so you can find out from Cathy who should know who has the other sections if you want to connect with them on anything?
Garden Club
Garden Area #21
21. This garden spot is mainly the section behind the bench and has a fluid boundary with the other tree spots so if you know who has the other ones, you may be able to discuss a plan for the tree garden in general…I’m thinking the dirt will have to be disturbed a bit, but you’re probably not going to be able to dig here much… So maybe a hardy low-growing ground cover with some moss and stones… and we can hope that it will spread if it’s happy and cover the area… There might be room here also for a little fairy garden of sorts since moms could sit on the bench and watch their young ones play here…
Garden Club
Garden Area #22
22. Perhaps someone who is familiar with statuary protocol could help with this section… I’m not sure if we need to re-orient the statue? Probably with the stones this is not going to be an intensive gardening bed, but I’m thinking we could either pull them aside a bit to plant something low growing out from the windows a bit? Or if the statue is re-oriented, a section in the stones could be opened up for some low growing flowering perennials around the base of the statue? Or maybe a tasteful planter might be worked in? This might be the spot for that with a “thriller, a spiller, and a filler”, as my mom says about choosing plants for striking planters :-)… of course as with all the spots, leaves will have to be collected and disposed of…
Garden Club
Garden Area #23
23, This is another rocky spot, that I think could be softened with some plants. Once it is cleared of leaves… Also, because of the bench, this might be another place for a little fairy garden… With any of the fairy garden spots, the items can be purchased or made, but we want them to be able to be played with so keep that in mind of course…?? the bench could probably be straightened a bit, and the stone might be moved a bit or planted around with some low growing sedums that would create a ground cover and not need watering much…?
Garden Club
Garden Area #24
24. OK, this is a pretty wide expanse of rocks at this spot… I don’t know if the statue needs to be pulled out a little further? Also, there are a number of stone and decorative items in this section… If you feel like you want to use them, that’s fine… If not, You could offer it to another part of the garden where you think it might look nice… The statue needs to stay, though, of course … This is a little bit sunnier spot… If you have or want to purchase or make some low hypertufa planters and put some heat-loving plants in them, that might be an option?
Garden Club
Garden Area #25
25. Okay, my plant app is not giving me a very decisive answer on what this shrub is… if you are able to ID it and want to look into the best way to prune it, that could be good… Otherwise, you could leave the shrub and just clear the leaves and weeds… I see some ornamental basil… I like that, but it might be a little bit crazy in this enclosed space so you could probably treat it as a weed… because there might be a little shade from the shrub, it occurred to me that this could be a cute spot to find some short squat log stumps to make a nature-themed little person sitting area… it could be just the stumps or you could find some creative way to add a natural looking table on the same scale… Maybe a large rock or larger stump or a small metal porch table that could be sunk in the rocks a little ways? Some nice mounding thymes could grow either in the shady or or sunnier spots of this area possibly?
Garden Club
Garden Area #26
26. If somebody is interested in researching some Bible plants, this might be an interesting spot to put some of them if they aren’t poisonous? Totally not necessary though… A rain garden with drought-tolerant plants could also be nice. Unfortunately, we’re stuck with the wires on the wall, but I think if we maybe move the statue out a little bit and pull the focal point of the area down and lower to the front, viewer eyes may be drawn away from that… of course the leaves will have to be cleared and it does look like there’s some grasses that are pretty firmly entrenched… If these can be dug out, that would probably be best… A hand trowel and moving the rocks aside might help?
Garden Club
Garden Area #27
27. The shrub/vine probably needs to be cleaned up a little bit… And of course the leaves as well… I could envision two or three different possibilities for this little spot… One would be adding some larger rocks and rock garden plants… Another might be to put in one or more bird houses and/or feeders? And another idea might be to turn it into a little bit of a butterfly attraction spot… Put a butterfly house and decorative feeding plates and some butterfly plants in a planter? So options for gardeners or non- gardeners depending on what is desired…
Garden Club
Garden Area #28
28. This little statue is really sweet, and I think it could be pulled out from the wall, a little bit further to more of a central location in the spot if it’s not too heavy to move? It also looks like it has some planters incorporated in the statue… so again, some sedum … Maybe some Hens and chicks or some of the fun agaves might be added into those? There is also some grass and leaves that would need to be cleaned up as well… The shell could be incorporated or moved to another section depending on whether you feel like it works with your plan… I’m wondering if some of the bright flowering ice plants would work here?
Garden Club
Garden Area #29
29. I am thinking this spot might be the best one for one or more families to go together who would be willing to build or purchase one or more long raised beds and add some good dirt to coordinate with Ms. Kelly to possibly grow some herbs and greens for the cooking classes to use? Of course it would have to be cleaned up and cleared like the others, and it would be wonderful if the plants could be labeled for educational purposes! Some seasonal flowers would also be nice… These could be possibly put in the ground if some of the rocks could be cleared by the gate/fence or they could be put in round planters also to soften the area?
Garden Club
Garden Area #30
30. I perhaps should have made this #1. There’s obviously not any place to actually put plants in the ground here, but I think this part of the garden needs a little bit of PR help and TLC :-) There are some options, I think! We could do hanging plant bags on the fence either side of the gate… We could do a large planter with some sun-loving plants and a welcoming sign… just some starting suggestions
Garden Club
Garden Area #31
31. Finally, this is a spot that could be adopted by one or more families who might want to work together… This one could be a little bit more time intensive because it would need to be tended more throughout the year. If there is a family who is interested in landscaping and arrangement, it would be lovely to make this a cheery and welcoming spot for all the people who visit our building! During the summer, it might be a planter with bright petunias or vinca… once we get into the fall, this could switch to a display of hay bales and pumpkins, and mums… as we go into the winter, perhaps we could get a small potted evergreen that could be decorated for the holidays? And maybe a planter in the spring with some forced bulbs? Any way to decorate the drain pipe or incorporate it into the arranagement?
