Garden History, starting June 2008
The Julia V. Morris Garden is operated by the WSU, Snohomish County Master Gardeners and gardeners of all ages from Monroe and surrounding communities. Produce harvested in the garden is donated to the Sky Valley food bank. There is MAGIC in the garden. It is a place of love and sharing and generosity, a place to learn and make new friends. Join us in the garden. Get directions
For more information on the garden or classes or to volunteer, contact Monica Novini (360) 793-8757 monica@monicanovini.com
Spam filters keep email from some servers like yahoo and hotmail from reaching me. If you don't get an email response, please call me.
when we arrived
The squash was already planted by Eric
before we arrived.
Thanks, Eric!
Doesn't it look so small and cute and innocent.
There is not hint of the incredible invasion
about to take place.
The rest of the garden didn’t look like much when we first got there. It was rather sad, overgrown with rye grass and clover that was planted as a cover crop last fall. The raised beds were buried under a blanket of weeds.
Empty ground, like clear-cut forests, promote excess runoff of storm and irrigation water. Fertilizers and pesticides are leached from the soil and added to the mess. This unnecessarily overloads our drainage systems and pollutes our rivers, streams and lakes.
Cover crops are planted for several reasons. Some, like clover, peas, beans and other legumes, add nutrients to the soil. They have the ability to increase nitrogen in the soil in a form that is readily available to other plants. Others are planted to protect against erosion. The roots spreading through the soil help keep it from washing away. Plant leaves slow the rain down so it doesn’t hit the ground so hard and splash away. It can drip softly from the leaves landing gently and be absorbed into the ground. This reduces runoff and protects the soil.
the first work party
There is nothing like a good work party
to get a big job completed in no time.
That first day, 6 brave souls played in the mud.
We spent 2½ hours weed whacking and pulling weeds
in the rain. It was a wonderful experience.
Several days later, I discovered that Debi and Roger
spent a day tilling
everything
that needed to be tilled!!
Debi even donated and planted an herb garden!
We were able to donate lots of fresh herbs
to the food bank all summer.
Thanks, Debi and Roger!!
the result
WOW!! Doesn't that look better!?
You guys RULE!! Thank you!!
the
donations begin...
Bailey Compost donated 10 cubic yards of luscious compost.
The garden angels spread the compost over all the garden beds.
This garden has some pretty great soil.
Thanks, Bailey's!
This is Michelle. She teaches horticulture at Monroe High School. They donated ALL the plants left over from their spring plant sale.
There were about 200 flats of plants. It took 5 trips to get them all to their new home.
Thanks, Michelle!
They were EVERYWHERE!!! We had so many plants we almost didn't know what to do with them. We planted, and planted and planted some more. Then we would do more planting the next time. There were many plants that were in less than prime condition. We planted most of them anyway. Most of the plants that made it into the ground gave us produce or flowers. It is amazing what can happen to even the saddest little thing when it gets what it needs. You can't always judge a book by it's cover.
The garden angels kept them watered for the weeks
it took to get them all planted.
the plants go in...
We were planting corn when a man in a van stopped by to offer us 13 very healthy tomato plants in 1 gallon containers. Each was a different kind. We had not gotten any tomatoes from the high school donations.
The continuing "Magic in the Garden"
allowed just enough space left in the tilled area
for the tomatoes.
There are times when garden angels do work or plant things in the garden and the angels identity remains a mystery for a while.
Potatoes started coming up along the fence and no one would fess up to the deed. Finally, Ted called and admitted it. He came back at harvest time to show us some tricks. Ted suggests cutting the potato plant back to just above ground and let them sit for a week or so before digging. This way the skin gets tough and they will store better. If you dig them without waiting, the outside skin peels away easily leaving a thinner skin which is good if you are planning to can them.
These Delphiniums stole the show as the garden grew.
They enjoyed being the center of attention
and bloomed for over a month.
Will's garden arrives. Will's garden was all in containers and he needed a place to plant them. He had the plants, we had the room. There goes that "Garden Magic" again. All his plants fit nicely in the available area. Imagine that!!
The raised beds were planted with bean, peas,
cucumbers, parsnips, and carrots.
We still had some empty beds.
the plants grow
See what squash does?
You turn your back for a minute
and it gets bigger
The Daylilies bloomed all summer.
We cut bouquets of them several times a week
and there were still flowers on them.
In fall we had a class on dividing perennials. We removed the lilies.
There were a bazillion of them. Everyone took some home, we
planted some along the fence and we donated a bunch to the city.
Will's garden seems happy here.
His squash seems to be doing well.
Volunteers,
wonderful volunteers
watering and harvesting
in the garden.
The squash is taking over the sunflowers.
Hey, wait a minute!! The squash is taking over EVERYTHING!!
TOO
late!!
Look
what
happened!
We filled this cart with squash 3 times a week ALL summer.
The last time we picked, we filled this cart and a wheelbarrow.
The raised beds flow over with plants.
It took a while to figure out who had planted them.
Slowly they came forward and introduced them selves.
There are Garden angels everywhere.
Unfortunately, there was a drop of water
on the lens when this picture was taken.
You can still see how tall the corn has gotten
and how much the herbs have grown and
look what happened to the spindly tomatoes
on the bottom right
Peppers, parsnip, herbs, potatoes and sunflowers
grow in the sunshine.
the harvest begins...
MANY garden angels came to the garden to help with the harvest which we did every Monday, Wednesday and Friday throughout the summer. The produce harvested changed as the seasons progressed. So did the quantity. In the beginning, we were excited to take 15 or 20 pounds over in little plastic bags. Soon we were using baskets. Then the day came that the squash got REAL happy!! We had to use the garden cart to haul the 255 pounds of produce to the food bank and we were all carrying baskets of produce, too!! It took 6 people 2 hours to harvest that day. From that day on, we used the garden cart and carried the baskets of extras over by hand until the final squash picking. That day we filled the garden cart and a full sized wheel barrow. Why didn't I think to take a picture? Guess we were all too excited, and tired.
A whole family of angels arrives. Mom Yvette
and her wonderful kids Max, Chase, Jackson,
Austin and Cecily made harvesting 3 times a week possible.
The garden would definitely NOT have worked
this summer without them.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you!! Your love and dedication is appreciated more than you can know!!
Gardeners of all ages arrived
even in the rain
to harvest for the food bank.
Garden Home Page Class Information Garden History