3 Beautiful Gardens From the Columbus Dispatch

Holden Arboretum
Holden, in Kirtland, is one of my favorites. Twenty miles of winding paths and trails take visitors past more than two dozen little lakes and ponds and alongside scenic Pierson Creek.
Holden covers more than 3,600 acres, with natural areas making up most of the arboretum. During my most recent visit, though, I couldn't bring myself to leave the beautiful cultivated areas, which include major collections of magnolias, lilacs and viburnums.
The arboretum's Helen S. Layer Rhododendron Garden is a spectacular sight this time of year. It encompasses 25 acres of spring-blooming rhododendrons, azaleas and similar plants, all shaded by a canopy of oaks, beeches and maples.
The formal Lantern Court Garden, also covering 25 acres, features perennial borders, rose and wildflower gardens, a rock garden and a large collection of hostas.
Just outside the visitors center is a lovely butterfly garden, which really comes into its own later in the summer.
Call 440-946-4400 or visit www.holdenarb.org.

Dawes Arboretum
I'm a sucker for the soft-edged symmetry of a formal Japanese garden.
Dawes, near Newark, has one of the best in the region. The garden was designed in 1963 by landscape architect and professor Makoto Nakamura of the University of Kyoto in Japan.
Today it offers a relaxing melange of flowing water, artistically placed rocks and sand, and beautiful trees and shrubs. And you needn't be into Zen to enjoy the serenity of the view from the meditation house.
Dawes also offers many other botanical attractions, including one of the northern-most cypress swamps on the continent, an azalea glen, and a comprehensive collection of buckeye, beech and ginkgo tree varieties.
Eight miles of walking trails loop through the arboretum. Yet visitors needn't even walk (although they probably should if they can): Dawes also features a 4-mile auto-tour trail that takes drivers through deep woods and lush lawns and along many of the most interesting individual gardens.
Weekend visitors can also tour the Daweswood House Museum, once home to the family who founded the arboretum.
Call 1-800-44-DAWES or visit www.dawesarb.org.

Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens
The manor house of Goodyear tire baron F.A. Seiberling is the central focus of this Akron attraction.
Stan Hywet (pronounced HEE-wit) is Old English for "stone quarry." And the 65-room mansion was built between 1912 and 1915 from stone quarried on the site.
Tours reveal magnificent stained- and leaded-glass windows -- more than 21,000 panes in all; intricate tile and plaster ornamentation; and interior woodwork that might be called a kind of carpenter's arboretum, with boards of American oak, chestnut, black walnut, sandalwood, teak and rosewood.
Although the estate today covers just 70 the original 3,000 acres, the remaining gardens still offer a colorful and soothing bounty.
A 550-foot allee, or walkway, lined with more than 100 gray birch trees, ends at a breathtaking view of the Cuyahoga Valley.
The stone quarry has been turned into the Lagoon, several ponds connected by waterways and surrounded by a naturalistic garden.
Visitors can also tour the Gothic-style Corbin Conservatory greenhouse.
Unfortunately, Stan Hywet's cozy Japanese garden and formal West Terrace are both closed for renovations. They are to reopen in 2010.
Call 1-888-836-5533 or visit www.stanhywet.org.

Urban Farmers' Market-- May 16th

The Urban Farmers’ Market will be on MAY 16th, from 9am - 1pm.

DON'T MISS IT :)

It’s not just any farmers’ market...it was started by community gardeners!! At this market, you can:

• LEARN from gardening and cooking demos

• CHOOSE from fresh foods grown in your neighborhood

• GET YOUR GARDEN STARTED with tomato, pepper, squash and flower plants (proceeds support our gardens--and plants are just $.50 each!!)
  

These folks will also have their stuff available at the UFM:

• Dandelion Deeds--handmade clothes, kitchen and garden gear

• Tim Elkins--locally roasted coffee

• HoneyRun Farms--spring greens, soap and honey

• The Greener Grocer Veggie Van--fresh produce supporting ohio farmers

Finally, the market will coincide with a Block Party that includes games, raffles and community services info, happening from 9 am to 4pm on the same spot.

FIND THE MARKET @ the corner of North 4th street and 18th. http://maps.google.com/maps?oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&q=4th+street+and+18th+columbus+OH+43202&ie=UTF8&hl=en&ll=40.004952,-82.998576&spn=0.004224,0.009012&z=16&iwloc=A

Stay posted for news of our other three markets, on July 25th, August 22nd and September 26th.

The Panther Community Garden

I would like to direct your attention to an exciting new school and community garden here in Columbus. Here is the description from their blog:

"The Charles School at Ohio Dominican is proud to be installing a community garden, The Panther Garden, with generous assistance from the Toyota TAPESTRY through the National Science Teacher’s Association. Our garden is being used to support the biological science curriculum with our 10th grade students.

While we haven’t broken ground yet, we are designing our garden, beginning seeds indoors, and researching (which will later be posted to this blog).

Our garden is located at 1270 Brentnell Ave."

I am so happy to see this garden come to fruition. Ed Ingman is the visionary, grant writer and implementer of this garden, and he is an amazing person and teacher. Congrats to TCS and Ed! What a feather in Columbus' cap!

good 'n planty blog

A new (to me) blog by Organic Gardening's Abby Poulette just mentioned Columbus in regards to the the Waterworks Project award and Dr. Demas's "Food is Elementary" presentation.

I did a little research and discovered that one of our blog authors is the recipient of that award at The Farm Garden at the Early Childhood Education Center...Paul!

Here is the description from the Organic Gardening/Waterworks website:

The Farm Garden at the Early Childhood Education & Family Center is a unique garden education program for students of the Outdoor Learning Environment school serving 700 children and 100 staff. The garden features an organic fruit, vegetable herb and flower garden, a play cabin/potting shed, compost area, native plantings and much more.

The program is run by local farmer Paul Etheridge, known to the school students as Farmer Paul. Farmer Paul teaches a structured farm garden curriculum for families that incorporates staff and children of all ages and abilities, helping the children build the connection between the garden and the source of their food. The program also includes a summer job training program for area teens who help to maintain the garden and work with children over summer months.

Weinland Park CG Updates

Hello Weinland Park Community Members, Gardeners, Godman Guild Volunteers & Partners,

First we would like to say, thank you for all of your hard work and support for the Weinland Park Community Garden (WPCG). This year has been filled with exciting changes and sad departures. As you may or may not know, Trish Dehnbostel – the heart and soul behind the garden is now working with Local Matters (www.local-matters.org) as Senior Manager. This dream job for Trish came as an extension of her work here at the Godman Guild and we are looking forward to continued work with Trish as a partner in the future.

In addition, Jessica Roach who also helped with the garden will be going back to school for her RN. Although this is a challenging time as we transition the great roles and responsibilities of these two tireless women, it is an opportunity to truly reflect on the garden – to refine processes, organize supplies and resources and eventually expand the wonderful work that Trish and Jessica have begun.

WPCG Meetings
Although we were not able to organize a final meeting with volunteers and partners of the garden, we will proceed to have meetings next year. The first of which will be on Monday, January 12th from 6PM-7PM. This meeting will allow Godman Guild staff to introduce ourselves to returning and new volunteers as well as plan Spring preparations and begin scheduling for the year. If you are interested in staying involved with the garden, please let us know.

Personal Plots
Those that enjoyed personal plots in the past will have priority for this coming year. If you are interested in retaining your plot, please let us know your name and which plot you were assigned. If you would like a new plot, please let us know and we will add you to our waitlist.

Shed Access and Security
It has come to our attention that the security of the shed may have been compromised and therefore the lock has been changed. If you have a key to the old lock, we would greatly appreciate it if you could return the key to Elaine Williams here at Godman Guild. We will be developing a volunteer schedule with your help in January to ensure that volunteers have access to the tools and water that they will need throughout the year. Access to the shed will be routed through Godman Guild staff.

WPCG Contact Information
We are still in the process of figuring our staff roles and responsibilities so for the time being, please feel free to contact me with any questions you might have during this transition.

Katie Andrews
Administrative Program Assistant
T.E.E.N. Program
Godman Guild Association
katie.andrews@godmanguild.org
614-294-5476 ext 138
www.godmanguild.org

Weinland Park Community Garden Update

Exciting things are happening in Weinland Park as July draws to a close. The teen garden staff members have spent the past six weeks caring for our garden, along with keeping up projects at several other Columbus community gardens. They will complete their summer work experience this Saturday at our Urban Farmer's Market
(Aug. 2, on the corner of 4th and 18th in Columbus from 9am-1pm). Much of the past two weeks has been spent in preparation for the market, but the teens have also had a couple of wonderful educational experiences in Columbus and in Athens, OH.



Last week we visited the New Harvest Cafe on Cleveland Avenue, in Columbus' Linden neighborhood. New Harvest is owned and run by Kwodjo Ababio, a Columbus resident and an avid gardener. Kwodjo grows much of the food for New Harvest in a plot behind his restaurant. The garden was once a neglected, trash-filled lot owned by the city. Kwodjo took over the space and transformed it into an urban garden, eventually securing permission for its use from the city. Tomato plants grow out of raised beds created from old tires stacked two high. Collard greens grow in a large rectangular bed in the center of the garden. He also grows herbs to use in his foods. Kwodjo talked to our teens about his hopes to continue taking over abandoned lots in Columbus and create more gardens. He calls this practice "radical gardening." He spoke at length to the teens about his gardening experience and its value to his business and about making meaningful positive contributions to the community. He generously served the teens and lunch of soup and sandwiches from his restaurant. The teens also spent some time out back in his garden, helping to weed, water and stake tomatoes. The teens seemed to really enjoy meeting Kwodjo and some were quite inspired by his "radical gardening" philosophy. It was great for them to see such an excellent example of ways that gardening can be valuable both as a business endeavor and as a very visible means of transforming urban neighborhoods.

Also last week, we took a day trip to Athens, OH in order to visit Companion Plants, which grows and sells a wide variety of medicinal plants and herbs. At Companion Plants, we were given a tour and then had time to wander and explore. The teens heard about jewelweed, a plant that can help build up one's immunity to poison ivy, explored the aromatic herbs growing in Companion Plants' greenhouse and learned that weeping willow tree bark has a chemical component similar to that found in aspirin. After purchasing some plants for the Weinland Park Community Garden, we headed into town to enjoy lunch at a worker-owned cooperative restaurant in Athens. Overall, the trip was a success, a nice break from garden work for the teens and refreshing for them to have an experience together outside of Columbus.



Check back soon for pictures and an update from our experience at this Saturday's Urban Farmer's Market!

Hello 4 Season City Farm Volunteers:

The season is in full swing!

Now join us on Wednesdays evenings from 5:30-7pm at one of the following gardens to plant and cultivate. Mark you calendars!

• Wednesday June 25th 5:30pm @ The Garden of Champions @ the corner of Champion Ave. & E. Mound St.
• Wednesday July 2nd 5:30pm @ Sunflower Alley @ the corner of Bryden and Ohio Ave.
• Wednesday Jully 9th 5:30pm @ The Garden of Justice @ the corner of Carpenter and Cherry, behind the Police Substation on E. Main St.

We will supply the tools and the project. Bring garden gloves(if you have them), a hat, and water.

Garden Update: We've been planting since early April and now as we continue to plant summer crops there is also a lot of weed cultivation to be done among the early crops. This time of the year there is a delicate balance of planting and maintaining what has been planted. We have some great new tools this year for cultivating the weeds when they are only inches high, not feet! Cultivating at the right time can save a gardener hours! We have begun to harvest peas, collards, lettuce, and herbs. This week we will also be harvesting radishes too. The harvests have been sold to The Black Creek Bistro and The Bexley Market. We've donated to The Community Kitchen at St. John's Center. We look forward to donating to the Salvation Army Food Pantry on E. Main St. this week as well. Look for our booth at the Near East Farmer's Market on 18th St. next to the Blackburn Rec. Center every Saturday starting June 21st through October.

This season we have 11 community gardens! If anyone is interested in their own plot, we have some areas set aside at The Garden of Freedom at the corner of E. Mound and Carpenter St. Please let me know ASAP! Every Saturday we meet at the Garden of New Freedom at 913 E. Mound St. to plant and cultivate from 9am- 1pm. There are other gardeners in their gardens on Satudays too and volunteers can stop by New Freedom for directions to these gardens.

Thanks again for your continued support of this project! Volunteers make all the difference!

Leslie Markworth
Community Garden Organizer

Glenwood United Methodist Community Garden in Valleyview suffers flash flood

This garden took a toll from last night's storm. they lost some rootcrops, a small fridge and water pump. If any one knows where they can get some replacement onion sets, 4x4 lumber, dorm fridge or any other help please contact me and I will put you in touch with Linda Casto, garden leader.

Thank you,

Bill

Another edible schoolyard in Columbus

Would you like to be involved in Columbus' newest edible schoolyard project? Lincoln Park Elementary, an elementary school in the Columbus Public School system, has recently installed it's 'Soaring Eagle Edible Garden'. The children have planted their large garden space with a variety of vegetables, flowers, and herbs, and could use some assistance from the community in maintaining it this summer. Please join us on Thursday evenings from 7-8 p.m. (weather depending) as we weed, mulch, plant, water, harvest, and enjoy community! If you have a hoe, please bring it with you. Lincoln Park Elementary is located in the south side of Columbus at 579 Markison Avenue, Columbus, 43207; the garden itself is located behind the building. For more information, contact Susan Weber at susanlweber@earthlink.net, or Kathleen Gmeiner at kgmeiner@columbus.rr.com. We hope to see you there!

Tending God's green acres

Great article from The Columbus Dispatch on our friends at Shepherd's Corner! It starts like this:

Shepherd's Corner at Dominican Acres sticks out like a green thumb among the subdivisions and shopping centers that surround it.

The 160-acre organic farm in Jefferson Township west of Waggoner Road is run by the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Spring, a Roman Catholic community. It is home to turkeys, chickens, sheep and a llama as well as hay fields and vegetable gardens.

Today is the farm's 10th annual Neighbors' Day open house. Ten years ago, residents of the newly built developments around Shepherd's Corner were curious about the farm. The event started as a chance to show off the farm to the new neighbors, said Melissa Camp, director of Shepherd's Corner.

Volunteers and Friends of Four Seasons City Farm:

Just a reminder, volunteer work days in the gardens take place every Saturday from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm. Volunteers meet in the Garden of New Freedom located at the intersection of Mound and Carpenter. We look forward to seeing you then!

In addition, as many of you may know, City Farm will be attending the Near East Farmer's Market with fresh produce on Saturday mornings starting June 21st and going through the beginning of October. The market will be held on 18th, between Main St. and Rich St. by the Blackburn Recreation Center, from 9am-4pm. The Near East Area Commission and partnering organizations need volunteers to make this Market a success! Volunteers are needed to set up the moveable street barriers (I'm told they are not heavy) and help staff a Farmer's Market information table.

Even if you help out on one Saturday this summer, your help is needed!

Please contact Pam Argus at the Central Community House to volunteer at 252-3157 ext. 124. Tell her you're a City Farmer! As always thank you for supporting City Farm and the community!

Wellington and Charles School help rejuvenate SouthSide Community Garden

Students from two area schools came out in force to help the SouthSide Settlement House Community Garden get growing again.

Erin Noviski and 45 -8th grade students from the Wellington School and Annie Carlson and her 'Green Team' of students from The Charles School combined their efforts along with the Growing to Green program of the Franklin Park Conservatory to help get this green space active once again.

Several area residents came out also on this cold, rainy and muddy morning to work with us. The garden has had problems with an invasive grass species taking over the plots. Many of the gardeners are seniors and were having a tough time battling the maintenance. New, smaller plots were laid out, grass seed was sown, trash was cleaned up, rocks were cleared and trees pruned and mulched. The sun came out in the afternoon as the Charles School arrived to help with remaining chores and cleanup. they even were able to plant a few sunflowers at the entry way. The plan was to work with SouthSide Settlement House to make the garden easier to maintain, involve more South Side residents and create an avenue of sustainability.

The garden will always welcome assistance from other neighborhood groups and our fantastic Community Gardens Network!

Thanks All,

Bill Dawson

Shepherd's Corner

Great Plant Sale this Saturday May 10th! Their yearly open house day is also coming up the first Saturday in June! Check out our google Calendar on this page for more information on Columbus Community Gardening events like this.

Their mission statement:

"Shepherd's Corner is a small corner of creation seeking to recreate the land's wholeness by rediscovering the life-giving harmony between the people and the land. Here, people of all backgrounds can learn to become reconnected with the natural environment, themselves, one another and the Creator who made them all. "

Beef from Just This Farm

Hi Friends of Just This Farm:

Now is the time to make your 2008 order for Grass Fed Beef from Just This Farm. I will be taking orders on a first come, first serve basis. So if you would like to order beef this year, I encourage you to make your order soon.

This year, I have purchased five steers directly from "Pomme De Terre" farm, a certified Organic farm located in Creston, Ohio. These steers are a breed called Beulingo, which do well on a 100% grass based diet and are known for their docile temperament and ability to gain weight quickly. These animals have been raised on organic pasture, and have eaten organic hay during the winter.They are very healthy and should do well here. (See attached Photo). They have never had any antibiotics, growth hormones, or synthetic products of any kind. They will be living on chemical free pasture here at Just This farm for the next 7 or 8 months.

I am taking orders and asking for an upfront deposit to cover my costs in purchasing the animals. The deposit will a little less than half of the total cost. The remaining amount will be due when you pick up your order in December. The animals will be butchered by a family owned and operated butcher shop located in East Liberty, Ohio.

This year I have raised my prices because beef prices in general are higher due to high feed and fuel costs. I am selling three sizes: 1/2 (side of beef), mixed 1/4 (portions from both front and rear quarter), and a mixed 1/8 portion.The exact amount you receive will vary depending on the size of the animal. All orders will be a mix of Steaks, Roasts, Ground Beef and some organ meats. If you order 1/2 or 1/4 you will have the opportunity to give the butcher shop specific butchering instructions.

Order Size Final estimated amount Cost per Pound Deposit Amount
1/2 (side) 200 lbs $6 per LB $500
1/4 (mixed) 100 lbs $6.10 per LB $250
1/8 (mixed) 50 lbs $6.20 per LB $125

To place an order, send a check made to Just This Farm for deposit amount of the size you wish to order. This is my address: Just This Farm 7657 Feder Rd., Galloway, Ohio 43119. If you want, you can also contact me by email to let me know your order.

This year, in addition to the Grass Fed Beef, I will be growing lots of delicious produce,fruit and Thanksgiving turkeys. You can find Just This Farm at the North Market (Sat mornings), Clintonville (Sat mornings) farmers markets.

Thank you for supporting local, chemical free agriculture. If you have any questions, please contact me by email (kevineigel@gmail.com).

Kevin Eigel

Just This Farm

Just This Farm

What an amazing farm run by Kevin. Make sure to check out his website and his stand at the North Market.

http://www.justthisfarm.net/

He has a pretty exciting event happening on his farm 6/12:

Thursday, June 12, 2008, meet at the farm at 6:30

Location: 7657 Feder Road, Galloway, OH 43119, (614) 805-5776

Carpool: from the Simply Living office at 2929 N. High Street (6 sharp!)

Bring a dish for 6 to share, table service and a chair. Kevin Eigel will be hosting the Peak OIl/Global Warming group at his farm, Just This Farm, on Thursday, June 12th for a summer potluck. Just This Farm is a diverse working farm that has been providing fresh, organic food for Franklin Co folks for the last 8 years. JTF has a number of perennial crops in place, such as asparagus, rhubarb, blackberries, apples, pears, cherries, plums, shittake mushrooms, as well as high tunnels, and 2-3 acres for vegetables. There are chickens for eggs, and cattle. Dale Hooper has been starting an edible forest garden at JTF and will discuss his efforts. Kevin will discuss the farming operations.

The Ohio School for the Deaf CG

We have been very lucky this year to connect with Bill Costello, gardener extraordinaire, and his gardening prodigy students: Julian, Scott, Irida, and Alia. The school and acreage is so beautiful. They have a fabulous greenhouse. Here is their website:

http://www.ohioschoolforthedeaf.org/

Their garden is in the shape of a turtle! It was designed by the oh-so-fabulous, Susan Weber, landscape designer and owner of Urban Wild in Columbus. Here is an article about her.

Blystone Farm

TGS community gardening AND FARMING group went to visit Katherine at her family farm (8677 Oregon Rd., Canal Winchester, OH 43110). Her farm serves the local community with fresh (or frozen) sheep and goat meat. She offers Muslim and Christian slaughtering right there on the the site. She takes good care of her animals and they are happy, safe (thanks to the Great Pyrenees dogs), and roam quite free.

This site offered so many wonderful things; I think it is important for students to see:
1. a woman running a business
2. the inner workings of a business
3. the multicultural aspect of the farm, product, and customers
4. the process animals go through to become meat
5. the changing face of farming in Ohio
6. a real working farm since it is such a huge part of our Ohio Heritage

We also got to play with gorgeous Pyrenees puppies in the barn and try Sloppy Goat sandwiches.

The students even figured out how to stay warm while not working: they stuck their feet in the huge pile of hay.

Cashmere comes from goats. Who knew?! What's more: where did I think it came from before I knew it was goats?!

We did not see any animals get slaughtered, but we did hear it. Some of the students had the chance to begin their farm experience by helping to catch baby goats so that they could be given medicine and vaccines. They seemed to struggled the most with the slaughter house aspect of the farm.


It was an amazing experience.

City Farms & Godman Guild: North Market Video

Well, this fabulous podcast I found on YouTube just about sums it up! If you look closely you will even spot a very adorable Trish with baby bump!

City Farms

Garden of New Freedom
http://oldfirstpres.org/four_seasons_city_farm

A city official drove by in the fall and snapped a photo of the The Graham School community gardeners at a Four Seasons City Farm vegetable and flower garden on Carpenter and Mound. The Garden of New Freedom is one of 12 managed and cared for by 4SCF around the First Presbyterian Church on the corner of Ohio and Bryden. The 4SCF organization started at this church, is run by a board, and is almost all on a voluntary basis. 4SCF gets its funding through donations and grants, especially the Growing to Green grant through Bill Dawson, Franklin Park Conservatory, and Scott's. The organization was begun by Susan Weber and Daniel Ingwerson.

One of the neatest things about this organization is that the church where it all began also started other important parts of Ohio's culture: The Boy Scouts first troop in Ohio, The Ohio School for the Deaf, and the OS for the Blind.

When we go to work at 4SCF, we always phone in an order of food to JP's BBQ. Toni and Corey always take good care of us, and occasionally, we spot JP himself!

http://www.jpsbbq.com/mainStreet.asp

The Godman Guild

photo by Trish

http://www.godmanguild.org/

This is the fabulous organization my students and I work with. Trish and Jessica are our fabulous site mentors. The Godman Guild originally started as a settlement house with huge gardens and these ladies are bringing the organization back to its roots through their own garden and helping to start and support other gardens in the area. Get involved with community gardening through them!