Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on July 18, 2010
Medlock Community Garden at the corner of Scott Circle and Willivee Drive celebrates its inaugural year - welcome to the neighborhood!
When Atlanta was hit with unprecedented rains last September, Burnt Fork Creek overflowed its banks and swallowed houses in my Decatur neighborhood. A few homes were beyond repair and turned over to FEMA. One of those houses is now the site of the Medlock Community Garden at the crossroads of Scott Circle and Willivee Drive. I’ve been driving by every day for the past few months watching the fence go up, the raised flower beds emerge, the mulch pile spread to cover ground, and a stunning array of vegetables and plants take root.
I stopped by on my bike some weeks ago and talked to one of the founders, who lives around the corner. She said that, once the neighborhood found out that the property had been acquired by FEMA, they started the process of asking to have the land for their own garden. As it turns out, the government would rather have the land in active use and adopted by the neighborhood than to stand as an empty lot, and so turned it over to Medlock Park residents who rent the plots out. Beyond that, I’m not sure how the administration of the garden is handled. Reservations went quickly and it wasn’t long before all of the spaces were taken. I guess that’s to be expected when you have an open, sunny lot in the middle a tree-filled neighborhood where sunlight peaks through the leaves!
I’ll keep you posted as I find out more about the garden – just wanted to share that Decatur has a new community garden! Neighbors are frequently there working on the garden, so stop by sometime and say hi. Oh, and Medlock Community Garden isn’t necessarily the official name yet – it was in flux when I went by – but is the most logical for the sake of conversation.
Posted in Gardening | Tagged: Medlock Park Decatur Georgia, Decatur community gardens, Burnt Fork Creek, Atlanta community gardens, FEMA owned land, Atlanta September floods 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on April 12, 2010
Spring wouldn’t be the same without Fernbank Science Center’s annual tree, shrub, and plant sale! This year’s plant sale will be held on Saturday, April 17th, 2010 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Check the Science Center’s website for the plant list to be posted online closer to the sale.
Questions? You can contact Mary Larsen, Volunteer Coordinator of the Fernbank Science Center at 678-874-7116 or larsenm@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us. I’m sure she’d be happy to add you to her mailing list to find out about all of the plant sales.
Posted in Environment, Gardening | Tagged: Atlanta plant sales, Fernbank plant sale, Fernbank Science Center, Georgia native plants, Georgia plant sales | 2 Comments »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on March 14, 2010
Every year, Atlanta’s Park Pride hosts its Parks and Greenspace Conference with speakers and continuing education covering a wide range of topics related to best practices for our parks. Now in its ninth year, the Parks and Greenspace Conference is offering conference-goers four tracks, Design, Build, Manage & Community, during the one-day seminar on March 22nd, 2010. Events will take place at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens – read all about it on Park Pride’s website here! Move quickly, though – registration ends Wednesday, March 17th!
To kick off this green Atlanta event, Park Pride is offering two tours the weekend before the conference. On March 20th, explore the Bellwood Quarry Reservoir (future home to Atlanta’s 300+ acre Westside Park on the Atlanta BeltLine) and Clayton County’s Newman Wetlands Center with the Green Infrastructure Tour.
On Sunday, March 21s, 2010, take a relaxing tour of Atlanta’s community gardens with an overview of how four neighborhoods are discovering sustainable gardening and self-supported agriculture. You can get info on the Community Garden Tour and the Green Infrastructure Tour schedule on the Parks and Greenspace Conference webpage.
Register online right now!
Posted in Events, Gardening | Tagged: Atlanta BeltLine, Atlanta Community Supported Agriculture, DeKalb greenspace, Atlanta community gardens, green educational seminars, Park Pride, Parks and Greenspace conference, Westside Park Atlanta GA, Bellwood Quarry Reservoir, Newman Wetlands Center | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on March 7, 2010
On a large double-lot at the corner of North Highland Avenue and St. Charles Place in Virginia Highland sits the neighborhood’s newest park – New Highland Park. As a fundraiser to get the park out of the ground, the Virginia Highland Civic Association is hosting the “Hard-to-Find Edible Plant Sale” with fruiting trees and bushes for your garden. You can pre-order online now through 4 p.m. on Friday, March 12th and then you can pick up your fruit plants at the actual sale on Saturday.
Selections include apple, fig, plum and persimmon trees; olive trees; blackberry, blueberry, and raspberry bushes; pineapple guave; muscadine vines; pomegranate / quince; strawberry plants; and much more. Check out the full catalog of fruit trees and bushes here!
- What: The Virginia Highland Hard-to-Find Edible Plants Sale
- When: Saturday, March 13th, 2010 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. (or pre-order online through March 12th)
- Where: At New Highland Park at the intersection of St. Charles Place and North Highland, across from Belly (Atlanta, 30306)
I’ll be ordering my fruit bushes later today – for now, it’s time for me to head out and play in my own garden for a bit!
Posted in Events, Gardening, Trees | Tagged: local atlanta parks, Atlanta fundraisers, Atlanta plant sales, neighborhood plant sales, fruit trees, Atlanta tree sales, New Highland Park, Virginia Highland parks, Virginia Highland Civic Association, blueberry bushes | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on March 2, 2010
the bamboo forest in the Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve (thanks to HamWithCam for use of this photo!)
Tucked away in a quiet cul-de-sac in Medlock Park (and backing up to the Saturn dealership on Lawrenceville Highway) is a lovely, hidden nature preserve with trails, a bamboo forest, learning centers, wetlands, bird-watching outposts, and more. If you would like to discover the Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve for yourself, this Sunday, March 7th, 2010 (and one Sunday of each month) is the perfect opportunity with volunteer work days at the preserve!
From 9 a.m. until noon, join your Decatur neighbors and friends to help mulch trails, remove invasive plants, and more. Be sure to bring work gloves and a water bottle!
For more information, please visit the Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve website.
And mark your calendars for the upcoming workdays through summer 2010:
- April 17 – Volunteer Day 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
- May 2 – Volunteer Day 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
- June 5 – Volunteer Day 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM
- July 11 – Volunteer Day 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Directions to Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve:
To get to the Nature Preserve take Medlock Road north to Medlock Elementary School. Turn right onto Wood Trail Lane and follow to the preserve entrance. For complete directions and for more information, visit the Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve website, leave a detailed message at 678-951-0105, or email information@cshepherdpreserve.org.
Posted in Environment, Gardening, Volunteer | Tagged: Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve, Decatur GA parks, Decatur Georgia parks, Decatur volunteering, Medlock Park Decatur Georgia, Medlock Park summer events, nature preserves Atlanta | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Our Green Atlanta on February 11, 2010
The forecast for snow may be deceiving, but spring is right around the corner! And the time is here to start planting – at least one tree – in honor of Arbor Day. Every year, Georgia celebrates Arbor Day on the third Friday of every month, which is Friday, February 19th in 2010. Arbor Day in Atlanta wouldn’t be complete without Trees Atlanta and the trees of the Fernbank Science Center forest, which is why they’re teaming up to bring you two events on Saturday, February 20th.
Fernbank Science Center Arbor Day Tree Sale
From 8 a.m. until noon, the Fernbank Science Center will hold a plant sale with trees and shrubs in honor of Arbor Day. The sale will only go until noon, so make sure you get there in time. Click here for a map of the Science Center’s location. Their plant sales are usually in the back parking lot to the right of the building, but if you have any questions, you can contact Mary Larsen, Volunteer Coordinator at 678-874-7116 or larsenm@fc.dekalb.k12.ga.us.
Atlanta’s Champion Tree Search & Walk
Calling all Atlanta Champion Trees! Trees Atlanta is now accepting big tree nominations for the Atlanta Champion Tree Search. Unsure how to evaluate a big tree? This weekend on February 13, 2010, from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., Robby of Trees Atlanta along with Fernbank Museum of Natural History will be conducting a guided walk through the Fernbank forest to practice identifying and measuring trees! Please RSVP for the workshop by emailing Robby at robby@treesatlanta.org.
Other Arbor Day events
The tree celebration continues with Trees Atlanta’s free-and-open-to-the-public Arbor Day Photography Exhibit on Friday, February 19, 2010 from 6:30 – 9:00 p.m. Photo will feature tree images by noted Atlanta photographers Kathryn Kolb and David Knox. So mark your calendar and head to the Trees Atlanta Kendeda Center, 225 Chester Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30316. The opening will serve as the official launch party for their”My Favorite Tree” Photo Contest, sponsored by a grant from the Georgia Forestry Commission. Check the Trees Atlanta website for info on applications and contest details – coming soon!
Posted in Education, Gardening, Trees | Tagged: Arbor Day Photography Exhibit, Atlanta plant sales, Atlanta tree sales, Champion Tree Walk, Fernbank Forest, Fernbank Natural History Museum, Fernbank Science Center, Trees Atlanta | Leave a Comment »
