This summer has been all about building. Between designing, moving materials, shaping garden beds, meeting with the community, and planning our children's programs, we've been pouring every extra hour into bringing Elephant Garden to life. The Mandala Garden is starting to take shape, and every volunteer day gets us one step closer to planting. If you're local, we'd love to have you join us this Tuesday at 9:30 AM for Community Garden Day. No experience needed—just come ready to get your hands in the earth, meet some wonderful people, and help build a garden that's truly for the community, by the community. Hope to see some of you there!

I’m so happy to see this. I hadn’t been in Judi’s garden for almost a month, and it was such a joy to come back and see how much it has filled in. Judi has been putting the coaching into practice, and it shows. We planted densely, combining leafy greens, flowers, perennials, and fruiting crops in the same space. Using succession planting, multiple layers, and a variety of plant shapes and growth habits, we’re making use of every square foot of the bed. I just tasted the spinach, and it was delicious. Around the beds we have rhubarb, squash, and a potato tower growing. While the long-term crops establish themselves, we’re already harvesting leafy greens. No waiting months for production and no wasted space. This is exactly what we’ve been talking about these past few months, and I’m thrilled to see Judi’s garden thriving. A few things worth noticing: • Abundance doesn’t require a lot of space. This garden has only two raised beds and about 50 square feet of additional growing space, yet it’s producing leafy greens, potatoes, rhubarb, mint, raspberries, blackberries, flowers, and more. • One of the garden’s superpowers is the compost system. Not a “maybe I’ll buy compost someday” approach, but a system that continuously feeds the garden, builds soil, and closes the loop right at home. • Dense planting means the soil stays shaded and moist, while weeds have very little room to establish themselves. • Flowers and beneficial plants such as marigolds, chives, zinnias, alyssum, and wild radish are mixed throughout the beds to attract pollinators and help create a balanced garden ecosystem. This garden is proof that you don’t need a huge property to grow a surprising amount of food. Where are you in your gardening journey? How is your garden doing this season?

How is the garden going? Any chance to volunteer?

Hey garden club, I just added a new bundle course to consolidate all the additional advise, tips, tricks and hacks we use in the garden over the seasons. Things such as pest control, summer planting, vertical growing space and I just added a new post on Guilds. Go check it out and keep an eye on it for regular updates. This is a way to keep information more organized and accessible for everyone. Let's keep the questions and feedback going so we can continue to build this library. Let's grow!

🪴 🌱 😂 Happy Monday!