Spring Has Sprung!!
April, 2012 Christ Episcopal Church
Family focus
“Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” ~J.K. Rowling from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Spring Has Sprung!!
Look out your window. What do you see? Chances are that you will be able to see little bits of green grass poking up, blossoms on trees, and flowers starting in gardens. The birds have returned and the weather in Wyoming is unpredictable. These are sure signs that spring is back! With the weather warming up and plants bursting to open, now is the perfect time to start planning your gardening! Gardening is a great family activity that everyone can be a part of. Gardens have been around since Adam and Eve and can be a fun and relaxing way to spend time with family and witness the miracle of creation.
Plan Your Garden
Think about what sort of space you have to plant your garden. The best part of gardens is that they can be large or small. If you live in the country and have a lot of space, you can plant a large garden. If you live in town and have just a little bit of space, you can grow a garden in buckets, window boxes, or raised garden beds. Keep in mind that smaller gardens are easier to care for, so don’t get too ambitious if you are just starting. Once you have planned where your garden will be, it’s time to plan what will grow in your garden. Do you want to plant flowers? Are you looking for plants you can eat? Do you want to attract butterflies or hummingbirds? Do you need to worry about deer or other animals eating your plants? How much sun will your garden get? All of these are things to ask yourself before you begin. All plants have different needs, so you need to plan carefully to get the most out of your space.
Finding Plants
It seems like you can find seed packets everywhere! Most of them cost a dollar or less, but you don't have to spend money on plants to have a garden! Find a plant that has gone to seed and collect from there. Pay attention to where the plant is growing so you know where to plant yours to help it grow. Wyoming has a short growing season. Most people recommend planting seeds directly outside beginning in June. If you are looking for flowers, this may mean that you have to wait a couple of weeks before you see any flowers. If you want vegetables, you may not be able to eat any until the end of the summer. That’s a long time to wait! For faster results, you can start seeds inside and move them outside once the threat of frost is gone. You can also buy plants from a greenhouse that have already been started.
Garden Ideas
Are you looking for new and exciting ideas for your garden? Why not try a theme garden? Theme gardens contain plants that go together in some way. Yes, you could plant a vegetable garden, but wouldn’t a pizza garden be more fun? Think about the plants that go into making a pizza. Bell peppers, onions, or even broccoli make good toppings. Tomatoes, oregano, thyme, and basil are frequently found in pizza sauce. All of these things are fairly easy to grow in your own backyard. If flowers are more your style, how about growing a butterfly garden? Butterflies help to pollinate flowers and are great to have around your home. Plants that attract butterflies include day lilies, nasturtium, zinnia, hollyhock, bee balm, purple coneflowers, rosemary, dill, and asters. How about a garden that can heal you? Many herbs have been found to help heal and don’t need much space. Aloe plants provide relief from burns, peppermint sooths upset stomachs and acts as a natural bug repellant, dill helps with heartburn, sage can be gargled to help with sore throats, lemon balm can help heal cold sores, and lavender can help you fall asleep.
Gardening in Small Spaces So, you don’t have a lot of space? Congratulations!! There are lots of ways to create a garden without planting an entire field! Think about the amount of space you have and whether it is inside space or outside space. From there, you can plan creative ways to garden. If you have an outside space, try planting a raised garden bed. Think of these as really large planters. You can find kits that create a frame that you can fill with soil, or you can build one up with lumber of your own. These beds can also be created with bricks, stones, or anything else you can think of. Once they are raised, they are not only easier to get to water and harvest from (if you plant veggies,) but are great for small spaces. Most raised beds are only three feet on each side! Another option that has recently been gaining popularity, especially for vegetable gardening, is a square foot garden. These gardens are built on a frame just like the raised gardens, but can also have a solid wood bottom, like a raised planter. They can even be built on wheels so you can move them around! The popularity with this type of garden is that once a plant has been harvested, it can be removed and something else can take its place. This way, you always have something fresh and ready to harvest! Gardening inside can be done on a very small scale. Hanging baskets and garden boxes are easy to find and are great for a variety of plants. Herb gardens don't’ take much space at all and can be added to the food you create. Imaging telling your kids that you added their chives in tonight’s mashed potatoes! Old mugs, teapots, Easter baskets, or even pencil cases can be easily converted to herb gardens. The possibilities are endless!
Garden Extras What is a garden without a gnome? Ok, so maybe gnomes aren’t your thing, but adding extra things are a great way for kids to get involved in the garden. Want to remember what you planted and where it is growing? Kids can create garden markers with popsicle sticks, plastic knives, or pipe cleaners to mark their plants. You can create a birdbath with an old pie tin. Be sure to put in a large rock so it doesn’t fly away! Set it on the ground in a shady spot and make sure you keep it filled with clean water so the birds will have water to drink and a place to cool off. Create personalized garden stones. Get an old bread pan or pie tin and coat it with oil or cooking spray. If you are using a flexible mold, you can skip this step. Mix some “stepping stone mix” (from a craft store) or some quick-setting cement and poor it into the pan. Once it has begun to set, you can add colorful stones, hand or foot prints, or use cement stamps to write messages. Everyone in the family can have their own personalized stone they created themselves!
R EAD T HIS :
Books to Share for Springtime Gardening!
The Christian Kids’ Gardening Guide: Cool Stuff for You to Make and Grow by Rebecca Park Totilo Outdoor garden or indoor garden? Tomatoes or flowers? Herbs or lettuce? In the Christian Kids' Gardening Guide, you will discover how to grow all types of gardens from start to finish. And as you plant your garden, you will dig into the Bible so you can grow in Christ as your plants grow. God's creation is fun! In this book, you'll learn about amazing plants and what to do with them, such as: Flowers that bloom at night and sleep during the day. Herbs to keep your pets bug-free. Popcorn you can grow and eat. Plants that grow - even if you forget to water them. Potatoes that bloom in a tire without dirt! Ready to grow? Grab a shovel, put on your gloves and start digging!
Big Gardens in Small Spaces: Out-of-the-Box Advice for Boxed-in Gardeners
by Martyn Cox Horticultural expert Martyn Cox presents Big Gardens in Small Spaces: Out-of-theBox Advice for Boxed-in Gardeners, a handy instructional manual illustrated with full color photographs on almost every two-page spread. Step-by-step instructions walk the reader through how to squeeze as many plants as possible in a small garden, grow one's own fruit, vegetables, and herbs, cultivate rare and unusual plants, and much more. A list of resources and an index round out this easy-to-use, hands-on practical guide enthusiastically recommended for any gardener who is necessarily restricted in space.
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children
by Sharon Lovejoy A compact treasury of gardening lore, tips, and ideas for adults to share with children. What sets it apart from other how-to books on the subject is Lovejoy's artistic, whimsical, holistic approach. She gives guidelines and instructions for a backyard moon garden that attracts night creatures, thematic suggestions for a pizza garden and a pumpkin patch, and includes the smallest of gardens in a discarded glove or boot. The author's list of top 20 plants for kids will get youngsters and their parents raring to dig. While some of the recommended plants are unusual, a generous resource list complete with addresses, phone numbers, and Web sites should make ordering easy. Other novel, thrifty advice includes how to harvest seeds and how to make your own seed tape with toilet paper, flour paste, and seeds. The sunny illustrations, informative sidebars, and nuggets of wisdom illuminate the text. Readers can almost picture Mother Nature leaning over Lovejoy's shoulder advising: "Don't forget herbal remedies" (she doesn't) or "Do include craft ideas" (she does-from a prosaic worm box to fanciful dream pillows).
Share one with your family today!
May 2012 Sunday
6 Church Cleanup Day
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
15
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24
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26
Blessing of the Animals Godly Play: Youngers: Symbols of the Holy Eucharist Olders: Paul’s Discovery 13 Happy Mother’s Day! Teacher Appreciation Day! No Godly Play 20 Rite-13 Ceremony
LAST DAY OF SCHOOL High School
Last Sunday of Godly Play
LAST DAY OF SCHOOL K-8th Grade
Godly Play: Youngers: The Mystery of Pentecost Olders: The Holy Trinity
27 Graduate Celebration!! Baptisms!
28
29
30
31
Family focus
“Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” ~J.K. Rowling from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Spring Has Sprung!!
Look out your window. What do you see? Chances are that you will be able to see little bits of green grass poking up, blossoms on trees, and flowers starting in gardens. The birds have returned and the weather in Wyoming is unpredictable. These are sure signs that spring is back! With the weather warming up and plants bursting to open, now is the perfect time to start planning your gardening! Gardening is a great family activity that everyone can be a part of. Gardens have been around since Adam and Eve and can be a fun and relaxing way to spend time with family and witness the miracle of creation.
Plan Your Garden
Think about what sort of space you have to plant your garden. The best part of gardens is that they can be large or small. If you live in the country and have a lot of space, you can plant a large garden. If you live in town and have just a little bit of space, you can grow a garden in buckets, window boxes, or raised garden beds. Keep in mind that smaller gardens are easier to care for, so don’t get too ambitious if you are just starting. Once you have planned where your garden will be, it’s time to plan what will grow in your garden. Do you want to plant flowers? Are you looking for plants you can eat? Do you want to attract butterflies or hummingbirds? Do you need to worry about deer or other animals eating your plants? How much sun will your garden get? All of these are things to ask yourself before you begin. All plants have different needs, so you need to plan carefully to get the most out of your space.
Finding Plants
It seems like you can find seed packets everywhere! Most of them cost a dollar or less, but you don't have to spend money on plants to have a garden! Find a plant that has gone to seed and collect from there. Pay attention to where the plant is growing so you know where to plant yours to help it grow. Wyoming has a short growing season. Most people recommend planting seeds directly outside beginning in June. If you are looking for flowers, this may mean that you have to wait a couple of weeks before you see any flowers. If you want vegetables, you may not be able to eat any until the end of the summer. That’s a long time to wait! For faster results, you can start seeds inside and move them outside once the threat of frost is gone. You can also buy plants from a greenhouse that have already been started.
Garden Ideas
Are you looking for new and exciting ideas for your garden? Why not try a theme garden? Theme gardens contain plants that go together in some way. Yes, you could plant a vegetable garden, but wouldn’t a pizza garden be more fun? Think about the plants that go into making a pizza. Bell peppers, onions, or even broccoli make good toppings. Tomatoes, oregano, thyme, and basil are frequently found in pizza sauce. All of these things are fairly easy to grow in your own backyard. If flowers are more your style, how about growing a butterfly garden? Butterflies help to pollinate flowers and are great to have around your home. Plants that attract butterflies include day lilies, nasturtium, zinnia, hollyhock, bee balm, purple coneflowers, rosemary, dill, and asters. How about a garden that can heal you? Many herbs have been found to help heal and don’t need much space. Aloe plants provide relief from burns, peppermint sooths upset stomachs and acts as a natural bug repellant, dill helps with heartburn, sage can be gargled to help with sore throats, lemon balm can help heal cold sores, and lavender can help you fall asleep.
Gardening in Small Spaces So, you don’t have a lot of space? Congratulations!! There are lots of ways to create a garden without planting an entire field! Think about the amount of space you have and whether it is inside space or outside space. From there, you can plan creative ways to garden. If you have an outside space, try planting a raised garden bed. Think of these as really large planters. You can find kits that create a frame that you can fill with soil, or you can build one up with lumber of your own. These beds can also be created with bricks, stones, or anything else you can think of. Once they are raised, they are not only easier to get to water and harvest from (if you plant veggies,) but are great for small spaces. Most raised beds are only three feet on each side! Another option that has recently been gaining popularity, especially for vegetable gardening, is a square foot garden. These gardens are built on a frame just like the raised gardens, but can also have a solid wood bottom, like a raised planter. They can even be built on wheels so you can move them around! The popularity with this type of garden is that once a plant has been harvested, it can be removed and something else can take its place. This way, you always have something fresh and ready to harvest! Gardening inside can be done on a very small scale. Hanging baskets and garden boxes are easy to find and are great for a variety of plants. Herb gardens don't’ take much space at all and can be added to the food you create. Imaging telling your kids that you added their chives in tonight’s mashed potatoes! Old mugs, teapots, Easter baskets, or even pencil cases can be easily converted to herb gardens. The possibilities are endless!
Garden Extras What is a garden without a gnome? Ok, so maybe gnomes aren’t your thing, but adding extra things are a great way for kids to get involved in the garden. Want to remember what you planted and where it is growing? Kids can create garden markers with popsicle sticks, plastic knives, or pipe cleaners to mark their plants. You can create a birdbath with an old pie tin. Be sure to put in a large rock so it doesn’t fly away! Set it on the ground in a shady spot and make sure you keep it filled with clean water so the birds will have water to drink and a place to cool off. Create personalized garden stones. Get an old bread pan or pie tin and coat it with oil or cooking spray. If you are using a flexible mold, you can skip this step. Mix some “stepping stone mix” (from a craft store) or some quick-setting cement and poor it into the pan. Once it has begun to set, you can add colorful stones, hand or foot prints, or use cement stamps to write messages. Everyone in the family can have their own personalized stone they created themselves!
R EAD T HIS :
Books to Share for Springtime Gardening!
The Christian Kids’ Gardening Guide: Cool Stuff for You to Make and Grow by Rebecca Park Totilo Outdoor garden or indoor garden? Tomatoes or flowers? Herbs or lettuce? In the Christian Kids' Gardening Guide, you will discover how to grow all types of gardens from start to finish. And as you plant your garden, you will dig into the Bible so you can grow in Christ as your plants grow. God's creation is fun! In this book, you'll learn about amazing plants and what to do with them, such as: Flowers that bloom at night and sleep during the day. Herbs to keep your pets bug-free. Popcorn you can grow and eat. Plants that grow - even if you forget to water them. Potatoes that bloom in a tire without dirt! Ready to grow? Grab a shovel, put on your gloves and start digging!
Big Gardens in Small Spaces: Out-of-the-Box Advice for Boxed-in Gardeners
by Martyn Cox Horticultural expert Martyn Cox presents Big Gardens in Small Spaces: Out-of-theBox Advice for Boxed-in Gardeners, a handy instructional manual illustrated with full color photographs on almost every two-page spread. Step-by-step instructions walk the reader through how to squeeze as many plants as possible in a small garden, grow one's own fruit, vegetables, and herbs, cultivate rare and unusual plants, and much more. A list of resources and an index round out this easy-to-use, hands-on practical guide enthusiastically recommended for any gardener who is necessarily restricted in space.
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children
by Sharon Lovejoy A compact treasury of gardening lore, tips, and ideas for adults to share with children. What sets it apart from other how-to books on the subject is Lovejoy's artistic, whimsical, holistic approach. She gives guidelines and instructions for a backyard moon garden that attracts night creatures, thematic suggestions for a pizza garden and a pumpkin patch, and includes the smallest of gardens in a discarded glove or boot. The author's list of top 20 plants for kids will get youngsters and their parents raring to dig. While some of the recommended plants are unusual, a generous resource list complete with addresses, phone numbers, and Web sites should make ordering easy. Other novel, thrifty advice includes how to harvest seeds and how to make your own seed tape with toilet paper, flour paste, and seeds. The sunny illustrations, informative sidebars, and nuggets of wisdom illuminate the text. Readers can almost picture Mother Nature leaning over Lovejoy's shoulder advising: "Don't forget herbal remedies" (she doesn't) or "Do include craft ideas" (she does-from a prosaic worm box to fanciful dream pillows).
Share one with your family today!
May 2012 Sunday
6 Church Cleanup Day
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
15
16
17
18
19
21
22
23
24
25
26
Blessing of the Animals Godly Play: Youngers: Symbols of the Holy Eucharist Olders: Paul’s Discovery 13 Happy Mother’s Day! Teacher Appreciation Day! No Godly Play 20 Rite-13 Ceremony
LAST DAY OF SCHOOL High School
Last Sunday of Godly Play
LAST DAY OF SCHOOL K-8th Grade
Godly Play: Youngers: The Mystery of Pentecost Olders: The Holy Trinity
27 Graduate Celebration!! Baptisms!
28
29
30
31
