Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Photo Montage: Beauty and Bounty

Hi Everyone!

Here's a photo montage of what's been happening with the Cultivating Community! 

1.) A smoothie potluck. We're slightly curious about why everyone isn't jumping on this bandwagon we've started. We provided the blender, ice, and yogurt. Volunteers all brought a favorite fruit or veggie. The concept allows for trying many different combinations of ingredients, and sampling tons of concoctions. Here's the worksheet we discussed at the potluck: https://ctools.umich.edu/access/content/group/1102366804842-3971381/Recipes/smoothie.pdf 


First, we made a berry medley blend, with raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, ice, and vanilla yogurt.

Cheers! Laura and Kathleen celebrate the success of our first smoothie attempt!


Bananas help to thicken and sweeten smoothies. 


Green smoothies have been on the radar of health nuts everywhere, so we had to see what the hype was all about. I like the idea as much as the next nature-lover garden girl, but based on our attempt, the green smoothie is best in theory. Laura, Kathleen, and Laurie bravely sampled a blend of kale, cabbage, spicy salad greens, carrots, and banana. 

2.) Amanda, Jen, and Sangum joined us for a field trip to the Makielski U-Pick Berry Farm in Ypsilanti. There were acres of blackberry and raspberry bushes heavy with fruit for us to pick! 






3.) Signage! The Ginsberg garden has a new look! 

Andrea designed this sign for us, and it is now hanging beautifully in front of the garden. It's catching the eye of many passersby on Hill St. More and more students and community members are stopping to compliment and ask about our garden! 


We also installed podiums featuring a description of the Cultivating Community, an explanation of the purpose the garden serves, and gardening tips! This added interpretation indicates that the Ginsberg garden is a place for learning and exploring, not just a pretty thing to look at from afar! 

4.) Natural tie-dying. 

We used this yellow flower, Coreopsis, to tie-dye silk scarves and bandanas! The flowers dyed the silk a pretty golden color (it could almost pass for maize!).

5.) Growth.
Cherry tomatoes


Swiss chard


Eggplant


Sunflower


Hot peppers and raspberries

Will write again soon,

Sara 



No comments:

Post a Comment