What did SUNNY TEAM do on Monday 3rd November 2014?

ARDEN CLUB

This was our second visit to the Jardin de Marie.

Last time we just visited the garden, talked to the gardener (who gave us some beans with funny colours), and ate too many raspberries...

Raspberries!

We were very lucky because the weather was sunny and quite warm.

It had rained on and off all morning so the soil was damp.

We put on our gardening kit: rubber boots, aprons, gloves, and hats.

We talked about SAFETY with our teacher.

He gave us our name: SUNNY TEAM!

We will design our team logo soon...

What will our LOGO look like?!

He said that the plants we will put in our garden will be bright-coloured like the sun: yellow and gold, orange and red.

We picked up the litter on our garden plot and threw it in the rubbish bin.

We measured our garden plot using the gardening lines.

Measuring the plot

We marked our plot.

We used the big tools (leaf rake, rake, hoe, fork and spade) plus the wheelbarrow to start tidying the garden: get rid of leaves, weeds, bits of grass, plants and roots; turn over the soil to let it breathe and soak up the rain.

This was hard work!

The Head Gardener used the rototiller to turn over the soil (1m x 3m) to mark the separation between our plot and MOONY TROOP’s plot (the other GARDEN CLUB team is called MOONY TROOP).

A rototiller

The Head Gardener showed us how to plant rhubarb.

We planted the rhubarb in the soil that he had plowed.

A rhubarb plant has very big, fat, roots.

We had to dig a hole about 30cm deep and 30cm wide, place all the roots into the hole, then carefully fill up the hole around the roots with earth.

Only the short stem of the plant must stick out of the soil.

Rhubarb plant

We planted seven rhubarb plants, one for each member of the team.

Rhubarb grows very big!

We put away the tools and put our gardening kit in our bags.

We said thank you and goodbye to our teacher, Mr Nettleship, and to the Head Gardener, Mr Carlos.

Before we go back to the garden (in two weeks) we have to think about the plants we would like to put in our “sunny” garden.

All of us must remember to bring our gardening kit!

First year in the Jardin de Marie...

Planting in May

Harvesting in September!

Have you visited the herbularis (created in May and June 2014) by pupils from La Source?

What is a physic garden?

Some of the most popular plants in a Mary Garden

Rose (rose)

Lily (lys)

Columbine (ancolie)

Violet (violette ou pensée)

Carnation (œillet)

Oxeye Daisy (marguerite)

Star of Bethlehem (ornithogale)

Snowdrop (perce-neige)

Rosemary (romarin)

Forget-me-not (myosotis)

Meadow Cress (cardamine)

Lavender (lavande)

Marigold (souci)

Bluebells (campanule)

Speedwell (véronique)

Lily of the Valley (muguet)

Iris (iris)

Fuchsia (fuchsia)

Herbs (plantes aromatiques)

The statue of Mary which, we hope, will be placed at the centre of our garden...

The garden to be... January 2014

First visit of the future Mary garden…

Burdock

We (Amélie, Pierre-Dominique and myself, Pierre-Etienne) spent two hours on a warm Autumn afternoon with Sebastien Banot, a professional landscape designer and consultant in historical gardens as well as agroforestry. We tried to understand more about botany and horticulture for our project to create a garden next to Sainte-Marie school (the entrance is on the “Petite Provence” street side). It will be a colourful Mary Garden made up of plants related to Saint Mary.

We also talked a little with Mr Castro who has a wonderful organic vegetable garden next to where we will plant the Mary Garden (he grows amazing Jerusalem artichokes, huge white and purple beans, carrots, cabbage, raspberries, tomatoes and even purple potatoes).

Sebastien told us that the soil was very rich and good, even deep down, and that “almost everything” will grow there. It is a sedimentary medium, with silt, a lot of organic matter and no clay.

Some of the plants growing wild are: burdock (a medicinal plant), stinging nettles, brambles, two cherry trees, and too many ash trees (i.e. lots of shoots which will have to be pulled out, something which is a bit difficult and has to be done properly).

When weeding, we must do so by hand. It is a delicate task because we must uproot the whole plant to avoid the plant regrowing the following year. To weed correctly plants with deep tap roots you have to keep your back straight and use the strength of your legs.

We need to choose plants which won’t need a lot of care (watering, pruning or weeding) because we do not have much time or money...

We must first of all make a detailed plan of the site and list what type of species we want to use (those that need minimal care and correspond to the project's spirit).

To create the desired form and style, we will have to take into account the orientation of the garden (it is on a north-south axis), the amount of light (there is a lot, but it is obviously not the same under the trees as elsewhere), and the size and shape of the garden and the ultimate height and volume of each species.

We have to think of all the plants which can live in the specific conditions of this particular part of the Auvergne. They have to be adapted to the soil and we have to consider water as a precious resource (though it is not rare here!). We will use plants which will not need constant upkeep and irrigation. Note that there is a little water channel at the top of the garden.

The principal constraints then are water, soil and maintenance requirements, and to take into consideration the basics: the seasons, the amount of light and water, and the changing temperatures. Lunar cycles are interesting but we must not make a big thing out of them at this stage… But first and foremost we will have to focus on understanding the very changeable Auvergnat weather, otherwise what we plant might get ruined.

The wire fencing, apart from being ugly, looks like it is about to fall down... Would a nice hedge not be more aesthetic and a plus for the biodiversity?

Because of the present state of the garden, it will be necessary to plough (but not too deep) and to thoroughly hand-weed so as to clear away the pieces of plants to avoid them regrowing. It is necessary to start as soon as possible. It will take two seasons to clear the undesired plants. We need to encourage particular useful plants to discourage weeds coming back (a carpet of clover is one option amongst others which would be good and very attractive, with no upkeep, plus it helps to temper the soil moisture).

Thank you to Sebastien for his invaluable advice and kind encouragements!