Hello Michael,

First you need to decide if you want the grounds to be historically
accurate.  There is a great deal of research available -- from the National
Park Service on down -- on what plants would have been in a historic garden
from your time period.  (Hint: clover was not one of them, it is also
impossible to remove once you have it.)

A good, accurate, and easy starting point are herbs. If you are in central
or southern NM you can start them this fall. If you are in northern NM wait
until spring.  Herb gardens functioned as kitchen and medicinal gardens for
the residents, so think rosemary, cilantro, dill, lavender,  fennel, even
amaranth would have been accurate for your area. Most herbs are perennial
(come back year after year), so they become low maintenance.

Next, think about food crops for the kitchen plot. New Mexico is the
perfect place for a 3 sisters garden and you can talk about the Native
American agriculture.
https://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/CR457/welcome.html

Finally, talk to your local Master Gardener group --
https://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/mastergardeners/  They MUST have service projects
to maintain their MG status and museums are some of their favorites.  They
will put in whatever you want.   And, they will likely be willing to help
with the Spring festival you are thinking about. Trust me, gardening with
kids is NOT as easy as you want it to be!

-- 
*Michelle Zupan*
Curator
Hickory Hill & the Tom Watson Birthplace
502 Hickory Hill Drive
Thomson, GA  30824
706-595-7777
FAX: 706-595-7177

Visit us at www.hickory-hill.org or on Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/hickoryhillmuseum>.
Follow us on Twitter: HHEducation

Historic homes of the Watson-Brown Foundation, Inc
<http://www.watson-brown.org>.

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