Autumn Settles in at the Panther Patch

 There are still plenty of plants kicking around the Panther Patch, but things have definitely slowed down.  Take a look at the pole sock/mail box.  It will add color to the garden all winter long.  Students in Mrs. Rhodes' and Mrs. Diaz's classes have been leaving notes and poems in the pockets. 

Oh Deer!

The deer are still eating our veggies and flowers.
Over the weekend, I followed the advice of an
online resource and left soap shavings around the
perimeter of the garden.  The strong scent of soap,
especially Irish Spring, supposedly masks the
yummy smell of fresh juicy plants, so deer won't
be drawn to our garden in the first place...and
won't be tempted to eat our little critters!  Hope
this works!

Garden Bounty! Who Needs the Grocery Store?

It's harvest time at the Panther Patch!

Fresh sunflowers and marigolds

Fresh corn, basil, peppers, eggplant and cucumbers

Ch Ch Ch Ch Changes!!!

Growing your own veggies and flowers gives you the
opportunity to see all the life stages of the food we eat
and the blooms that brighten up our living spaces.  Over
time, we have developed a close relationship to our
charges from seed to plant to flower to fruit/veggie.
Take a look at the transformations!

An eggplant bloom turns into a fleshy eggplant!

A cucumber blossom comes of age!

How are the flowers similar to the fruits/veggies?  How

are they different?  It's fun to get to know our food at 

every moment of its development!

Garden Babies

Congrats to the Royal Family for the birth of a son!  We have
some babies of our own to be proud of!  Here, you see a baby
pumpkin and two baby watermelons!

Daisies

Mystery Solved: Hungry Critters ARE Garden Vandals!

My online research has led me to the discovery that deer love noshing on flowers, especially sunflowers!  I also examined my parent's hydrangea, which has become the main course of numerous late night deer feasts this summer.  My parent's hydrangea and the plants in the Patch bear the same random pattern of missing flowers and leaves.

So, now what?  The most obvious (and expensive) solution is to construct a fence to keep the deer out of the garden.  Another solution is to plant fragrant plants, such as lavender, in the garden to mask the scent of tasty plants.  One website suggested dropping powerfully scented soap shavings throughout the garden area to accomplish the same goal.  Other options include scaring the deer away with a "scare deer" that looks like a person, wolf, or bear.  Many resources suggest leaving bags of human hair in the garden.

Now I know that posting signs, which I mentioned as a solution in a previous entry, won't work, unless we figure out a way to teach the deer to read!

In any case, we need to implement something immediately before our garden is completely decimated.

Garden Progress

Here is a beautiful orange zinnia and a stalk
of corn with a "tassel" bearing pollen.  The
countdown for a sweet, yellow ear of corn
begins!!

Here is a diagram showing the parts of a

corn plant.

Unsolved Garden Mystery - Hungry Critters or Vandals?

Someone or something has lopped off leaves, stems,
and flowers of plants in the Panther Patch.  On Sunday
when I went to water the garden, I was shocked at the
discovery.  No plant parts were left in the garden, and
the destruction seemed random.  Plants, such as the
sunflower pictured below, will die without leaves to
gather sunlight for photosynthesis.  It is very early in the
summer, and the plants have not even had the chance
to really take off.  This is very discouraging.

We will try to prevent another situation by creating signs
for the garden that remind visitors that the garden is a
place to be enjoyed by all.  The number one rule is,
"Enjoy by looking but not touching."  We will also
research the pattern of destruction to see if it may be the
work of hungry deer, which are prolific in the Parklawn
neighborhood.  In the case of deer, the construction of
a fence may be necessary.

Weed Identification

I took photos of the weeds in the Patch.  At another
place and time, these guys would just be leafy green
friends minding their own business, but as long as
they are competing for space with the critters we
are raising, they pose a threat.  The weeds in the Patch
are common to wide areas of the United States.

Common Purslane, or Portulaca oleracea

Lamb's Quarters, or Chenopodium album

Carpet Weed, or Mollugo verticillata

Large Crabgrass, or Digitaria sanguinalis

Spotted Spurge, or Euphorbia maculata

Here is a useful Virginia Tech website that will help
you identify weeds in your own garden.

http://www.ppws.vt.edu/weedindex.htm

Go Hokies!!!

Weekly Weed Erradication

Check out these before and after photos.
It takes about two hours to weed all six
beds.  That's not to mention gallons of
sweat and dirt packed finger nails.
YUCK!  It's a tough job, but worth it
for all the plants in the Patch!

What is a Weed?

weed  

/wēd/

Noun A wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants.

Verb Remove unwanted plants from (an area of ground or the plants cultivated in it).

Synonyms weed out Mrs. Diaz's Definition - Basically, a weed is a plant that is growing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Sunflowers in Art and in Nature

Here is an image of one of Vincent van Gogh's
sunflower paintings.  Compare it to the photo
Ms. McCann took of sunflowers in the
Panther Patch.  It's easy to understand why van
Gogh and so many other artists have been
inspired by these bold, brilliant, TOWERING
flowers!  Come to the garden with a sketchbook
and paints to create your own sunflower masterpiece.
Then, take a trip to the National Gallery of Art in
Washington, DC to view van Gogh's stunning
work of art!

Recommendations for Children's Books Related to Gardening

Follow these links to find some great garden-related children's literature!

http://delightfulchildrensbooks.com/2011/05/30/gardening/

http://childrensbooks.about.com/od/picturebooks/tp/garden.htm

Creativity Zone

   Mrs. Diaz's class made two stepping stones for the

   garden.  The octagonal stones are made of cement

   decorated with glass beads, mosaic glass and sea

   shells.  

   Mrs. Diaz's class transformed the garden

   into an outdoor museum with educational 

   signs to provide information about the 

   plants and critters that live in the Panther 

   Patch.  The students did online research

   to gather information.  Then they published

   the facts in short articles glued to decorative

   paper with a picture of each plant.  We hope

   you have a chance to stop by the garden 

   for a self guided tour!

  

What's New in the Panther Patch?

    Thanks to our summer waterers!  

    They are keeping the Panther Patch 

    green and gorgeous!

   The fourth grade planted a three sisters

   garden, similar to the gardens the Powhatan

   Indians may have planted.  The corn grows

   tall to form a sturdy trellis for the bean vines.

   The squash and pumpkins grow along 

   the ground.  

   A variety of flowers thrive in the Panther Patch.  

   Here, you see brightly colored sunflowers and marigolds.

   The strawberries returned for another year.  We 

   have a few returning visitors, including basil, sunflowers,

   marigolds, zinnias, and tomatoes.  

   The fifth graders planted two types of cabbage.  As

   you can see, they love their new neighborhood.

   The corn started out as tiny plants very 

   similar in appearance to their cousin, lawn 

   grass.  Over time, the corn distinguished

   itself in terms of its height and width of its

   leaves.  Soon each stalk will bear dazzling

   ears of sweet yellow corn!