Skill shares at the garden.

This last week at the garden, there were many exciting opportunities to get our hands dirty, meet new people, and learn new skills. On Friday we had our first herb skill share with Finn! We harvested chamomile, lavender, and mint to dry for tea. With both a medicinal herb bed and a culinary herb bed, these perennials and annuals are a thriving and lovely addition to the garden.

This rose-scented geranium is just opening into a bloom! The geranium is happy and healthy, so we were able to propagate a portion of the plant and integrate it into the vertical gardening along the fence. I enjoy breaking off a leaf and rubbing it to release her uplifting aroma. It is one of my favorite smells in the garden, and it's no wonder the essential oil is used in aromatherapy. The ancients believed the scent of rose geranium healed a broken heart, and advised those afflicted to soak in a bath infused with her leaf. Skeptical, I tried this at the farm where I worked and it did in fact sooth my nerves.

This pineapple sage is also thriving, with its fuchsia flowers reaching up to touch the sun. The botanical name of sage, Salvia, is rooted in the Latin "Salvare," which means "to save." This hints at the potent medicinal qualities of sage. The Salvia family is large however, so we have to be mindful of the different properties of each variety. Pineapple sage is used as a tea for digestion and as a general nerve tonic, and also as a culinary herb to lend a mild citrus flavor to chicken, salad, or salsa.

On Monday Christopher led a informative skill share on plant life cycles. We learned about the differences between annual, biennial, and perennial plants. We talked about double digging and urban gardening and I am excited to use those skills to grow more vegetables in the space.

The two artichoke plants are a highlight of the garden. They have become massive and are producing many flower heads. How fascinating that the artichoke plant is actually a domesticated thistle and that the part we humans eat is the flower of the plant. It is fun to think about the parts of the plant that we harvest to eat and how it may be quite tiny compared to the whole of the plant. Now is a good time to become involved in the garden as we are coming into spring planting and emerging from the slow period of winter. Help us plant, join in a skill share, and participate in the fun. See you at the garden!