Hi all

I'm echoing what has been said about reaching out to Master Gardener groups
though your county extension agency. We have had a partnership with the
Davidson County (TN) Master Gardeners since 1997, and they have created a
stunning 1 1/2 acre garden recreated on the original family site. This is a
huge undertaking for them and one of their premiere projects, but it's
earned them national awards for their interpretation of a historically
accurate garden. You can read more about them here http://www.mgofdc.org/,
more about the gardens here http://www.mgofdc.org/Grassmere, and details of
what they grow here
https://www.speakcdn.com/assets/2147/grassmere_garden.pdf.  They maintain a
native flower tier, heirloom vegetables, an orchard, a medicinal plant bed,
heirloom roses, and an herb garden, along with two separate iris beds. They
also conduct  series of free classes in the spring for gardening basics,
and include a class for kids who help plant a 'pizza' garden in a raised
bed.
This project has grown, and didn't start out this big. I'd recommend
starting very small and go from there.
Good luck!

<http://www.nashvillezoo.org/>

*Tori Mason, CIG*
Historic Site Manager
615-833-1534 x130
[log in to unmask]
3777 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, TN 37211
Take a Virtual Tour
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On Fri, Aug 2, 2019 at 6:17 PM Michael Rebman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> I do not have a green thumb.  My fingers are rather pale from years of
> wearing gloves while hiding in collections storage at other museums.  With
> that said, my historic house museum is located in an agricultural area in
> New Mexico.  The lawn is mostly grass, with sections that have gravel
> around modern outbuildings and assorted old outbuildings relocated onto
> concrete pads.  Historically, the grass lawn went up directly to the
> house's foundation.  There are two flower beds the length of the front of
> the house that were installed at some point in the past fifty years, that
> are not particularly deep (ranging three to six feet in depth), that are
> bordered with rocks.  I had the idea that we can have a Spring Fair and a
> Harvest Fair each year (coinciding roughly with Easter and Homecoming).
> The Spring Fair would include various flowers or other vegetation that kids
> could plant in those flower beds while learning about planting and calving,
> to go with the existing plants and large sign.
>
> Here is my question: what should I do with those flower beds between now
> and next spring?  They were mostly exposed dirt, grass, and weeds when I
> started earlier this year.  I do not want to leave them in that present
> condition, and the custodian already self-assigned the task of removing
> those weeds and grass.  Would it make sense to put a barrier layer over the
> dirt and leave it until it can be pulled up the week before the Spring
> Fair?  If so, what would be the optimal material (for aesthetics, price,
> and labor hours)?
>
> Thank you,
>
> Michael R. <[log in to unmask]>
>
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