All photos: S.Smith
From a dream to reality: the Gilroy Demonstration Garden takes shape as tidy beds are planted with herbs,
fruit trees, and vegetables such as this assortment of lettuce kept moist with water-wise drip irrigation.
Gilroy Demonstration Garden program director Katie Hogan didn't let any grass (or weeds) grow under her feet when it came to implementing the teaching portion of the garden's vision. The joint project of the Gilroy Arts Alliance and Leadership Gilroy, landscape designer Judy Hess and many local volunteers and businesses had its grand opening June 5.
With the motto "sowing seeds of exploration," as inspiration, the garden day camps were developed by former high school teacher Hogan and begin July 12. "I was looking for a way to get back into teaching the things I'm passionate about, which in the classroom had been Hamlet and is now getting kids and adults excited about what can be learned from a garden," said Hogan.
Geared toward children ages 5-10, it begins with Chefs in the Garden and ends with Garden Detectives in August. The series of classes will be interactive and hands-on, taking advantage of the garden's bounty and every resource in it, to teach fun lessons in nutrition, health, cooking and art. There will be bugs and bees to study, compost piles to discuss and recipes to review besides basic lessons in how to start plants from seed.
Chefs in the Garden
Plant a pizza and salsa garden with a final family feast on the final day
July 12 - July 15
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Bugs, Butterflies and Birds...Oh My
Explore the garden for good bugs and make habitats
July 19 - July 22
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Art in the Garden
Make art from the garden: candles, sculptures, dyes
July 26 - July 29
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Garden Gurus: Gardening Know-how from A to Z
Gardening 101 for kids: learn gardening from the ground up
August 2 - August 5
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Garden Detectives
Solving a mystery in the garden using science
August 9 - August 12
9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Each session is $150 and there are limited scholarships available for free camps for Gilroy families through a National Research Service Award (NRSA) grant. Contact the Garden for more details.
For more info: Visit the Gilroy Demonstration garden blog to find out what else is going on this summer. Currently, it's open on weekends from 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. with special events from story hour in the garden to compost and container gardening classes.
