Planting Day

This is my second season as an Adopt-A-Plot volunteer at Rugers Gardens. I'm discovering that one of the joys of having my own plot is that I get to start out with a blank slate each spring. I'm always changing my mind about the design of my gardens at home necessitating a lot of transplanting. At Rutgers Gardens, there is a different theme each year requiring a new design each year. Because the Display Gardens are all annuals, we start fresh every spring.



This year's theme is "The Nature of Our Heritage". The volunteers are being encouraged to plant their beds, both flower and veggie, with plants that reflect their ethnic heritage. My ancestors were mainly English so an English Cottage Garden was a no-brainer. I researched English Cottage Gardens over the winter, ordered my seeds and winter-sowed most of them. As soon as the ground could be worked, the beds were edged and roto-tilled. This year, a new drip-irrigation system was installed.

Today was the day I have been waiting for for months. I could finally plant my plot. Cosmos, cleome, verbena bonariensis, nicotiana, love-in-a-mist, bachelor's buttons, and calendula seedlings. In the blank spaces are nasturtium and sunflower seeds. It looks sparse, but they fertilize heavily and the beds get full-sun. The plants will all by huge by the time the annual Open House is held the last weekend in July.

In the background, you can see another volunteer working on her plot. She is planting a green garden in honor of her Irish heritage. I'm especially looking forward to seeing the green gladiolas. In the center of her bed, she has planted a "Thyme Ring" to attract The Little People.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the other volunteers are planning for their plots, aren't you?