Garden Details
Garden Details
Named in honor of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, “The Little Flower” garden is a living classroom and a place of peace, learning and sharing for our Botany Club. Our garden is designed to reflect the beauty of creation while teaching students the importance of stewardship, patience, and the “Little Way” of doing small things with great love.
Garden Practices
Garden Practices
We believe in using sustainable and traditional gardening methods. In January, our club prepares for the spring by creating "milk jug greenhouses." These recycled containers allow seeds to germinate outdoors in the natural cold, creating hardier, stronger plants for our spring transplanting. We maintain an active composting system. Students learn how to turn organic scraps back into nutrient-rich soil, ensuring our garden remains healthy and vibrant without the need fo chemircals.
Our garden is made up of mostly vegetables and herbs. We grow tomatoes, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, red onions, eggplant, beans, and various leafy greens. In addition, we have basil, sage, mint, rosemary and parsley. We also grow specific flowers that act as natural pest control. Some varieties are chosen to repel harmful insects, while others are planted to attract beneficial pollinators and "good bugs" that help our vegetables thrive. Our flowers include zinnias, marigolds, poppies, coneflowers, coreopsis and sunflowers.
Herbs: An aromatic collection of basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary, and mint.
We regularly share our fresh-picked vegetables and herbs with our faculty and staff. We put our harvest to use by making fresh garden salsa using tomatoes, peppers, and herbs grown right on campus and enjoy chips and salsa at a few of our meetings.
Our club moderator brings the garden into the kitchen by hosting faculty cooking classes. Using our home-grown bounty, she has taught staff members how to craft fresh basil pesto and traditional Sicilian caponata, bringing the garden’s harvest directly to the kitchen.
