At summer's End

After a little time off, Kathy has rejoined us and helped finish the raised beds.

She is calm, extremely knowledgeable, and very flexible.

The beds are almost finished.  They will be designated to Special Ed, Culinary for now.

The other side shows how we still have large amounts of trash going out.

And in keeping with the theme, the sink is pretty.

By Moonlight

The garden rests.  Soon the campus will be full of vibrant students.  

Summer break is over.  Let's see what Fall will bring.

What's been going on

Summer vacation is about to end.  The garden is still active.

We cleaned.

Planted 2 raised plots and are ready for more.

Got many visits from critters like this one.

We painted.

And painted some more.

Things are coming together quite nicely thank you.  

The Sun is Still Shining

 Even when it is nighttime, the sun will still be shining in our garden. Similarly, the students have forever made an impression on the landscape of the garden.

 A clever combination of plants, rocks, and sticks spell out "CDS AZTECS."

 

The students of CdS are proud of their school spirit and are able to come up with innovative ways to demonstrate school spirit. It is enjoyable to see the younger members of the community so enthusiastic about reforming their school's garden. 

End of the School Year

It has been a very productive year for the members of Corona Grows. They have helped spruce up the garden and have managed to make our garden even better than before. There are so many great memories this year: planting new vegetables,

 harvesting them, meeting new community members, 

 seeing the blossoming flowers, 

and watching the members and community smile as their efforts are rewarded.

However, the school year ended this week and the members are off to a well-deserved summer break! Good luck to those who are graduating this year!

Of course, there will be summer projects as gardens cannot thrive without a little help. 

Weekend Work

Class projects need watering on weekends too.

This student was spotted doing just that.  Science classes are growing things at Corona.

The Mosaic

Squee!!   Lookie what is taking shape here at Corona Grows.

Brynne Evans and her students have been busy making leaves for the mosaic project.  I can't wait to see it finished.  A HUGE THANK YOU goes out to the girls that spent their club time working on this.

Little Helpers

Even we can't do all the work that Nature does on her own. Nature provides us with little helpers to take of the garden while we are away. 

This little ladybug is well on her way to eating all the pesky aphids that like to appear on some plants. 

Compost provide essential nutrients for plants to grow healthy and strong. This worm loves to help out in our garden- not to mention he enjoys his free meals. 

Dog, a man's best friend, like to keep us company occasionally in the garden. 

And of course, there are usually the more curious animals that like to see what is going on in our garden.

A KEY to Our Success

An essential part of our garden's success is the members of the community that are willing to donate their time and efforts into improving our club. A few of Corona del Sol's KEY Club members spent their Saturday morning helping out in the garden.

In the photos above, and below, these volunteers were leveling a portion of the garden so that it could be ready to inlay the ceramic students' mosaic tiles.

They also helped build another raised garden bed.... 

..and new seedlings were then added to the filled garden bed. 

Thank you to Corona del Sol's KEY Club for taking their time and improving the garden! 

Big Things Often Have Small Beginnings

All things have to start somewhere. For these plants, they began as little seedlings in packets.

From there, they grew into juvenile plants stretching to reach the sun. 

Now, they have grown profusely and demonstrate a strong will to thrive in their environment. 

Raising beds

It's time to try an alternative method of planting our produce.  My most dreaded enemy, the grass, and its friends, the weeds, took over the nice rows we planted with peas, kale, etc.  I did not have it in me to try planting in rows again, so we are solarizing instead. 

 And a raised bed is now in place.  

Along with a watering system that will make it self-sufficient once hooked up onto a timer.

Simple Things

Even the simplest of things can have beauty in them and make us happy in their own special way. Here some wonderful young artists are putting mosaic tiles together:

These special little mosaic tiles now call our garden home:

Art belongs everywhere.

Paving

Good thing rustic is a favorite look for me. I can go rustic when paving areas that will improve the look of the garden.

 And paving will definitely control the weeds and grass, my dreaded enemies.

Cosmos

In the eloquent language of flowers, cosmos flowers symbolize peace and tranquility. 

Now that it is almost spring, the flowers have bloomed and seem to be telling us that they are calm and happy in the garden.

Peace (Peas) in the Garden

The pea plants grew rapidly in our garden and have given us plentiful amounts of peas. 

A successful harvest puts one's mind at ease and gives us satisfaction in knowing that all went well. Our efforts paid off and a large quantity of the peas were gathered last week. 

We're like peas in a pod in our similar love for the garden.