Our Garden is Abuzz

Patchwork’s garden has been buzzing this spring, and it hasn’t only been the pollinators buzzing around the blossoms in the redbud, sassafras, apple, and plum trees. The Southwestern Indiana Master Gardeners have been hard at work constructing four new raised beds for us to use with the kids in the Arts & Smarts Program. Funding for the materials came from Evansville Downtown Optimists’ Foundation.

The raised beds are the latest development for our garden plot where all sorts of plants have been nurtured since 1995 when Bill Hemminger first turned a compacted, empty lot into a lush, meditative garden space. Thanks to Patchwork’s garden, generations of kids have sampled fresh vegetables and fruits like lettuce, onions, potatoes, plums, blackberries, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes. The kids have learned to cook using the plants that they grew themselves. And, our neighbors have harvested garden produce for themselves.

The Master Gardeners working on the project have moved tons of concrete blocks, sand, soil, and mulch to create four raised beds. The concrete blocks are set on sand-filled trenches and will be filled with soil. Next week, our Arts & Smarts participants will help add some of the soil to the beds during our after school programming. They’ll get to plant, grow, and harvest more this summer (be on the lookout for our summer Arts & Smarts plans!).

We’re looking forward to using our new raised beds, and we’re grateful for all the work that the Master Gardeners have put into creating them!

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