Although our parties have been postponed and the parks are closed due to COVID-19, our community garden is open. We are meeting the first and third Saturday of each month for our “work days.” Please wear a mask and bring your own gloves. We can still garden while maintaining a social distance!
The Southside Living Magazine,which previously published our monthly garden column, is temporarily defunct. In the meantime we are distributing our own newsletter to keep you informed about upcoming garden events. Garden News Volume 1 Issue 1 2019 copy (1)
Saturday, May 25, 10 am
Cindy Raimond will meet us in the garden to share her 35 years experience working with butterflies. She will teach us how to create habitat that will attract butterflies to our gardens year after year. If you love our native butterflies you will not want to miss this presentation. Adults and children welcome!
One lucky attendee will win:
In addition, Cindy will help anyone that wants to create their own butterfly habitat during the event. Bring a very LARGE glass or plastic container or a small aquarium.
On Sunday, March 24, 2019 the Southside Place community garden with infused classical music provided by the Rice Shepherd School of Music Quartet. This community event was sponsored by Southside Place. Neighbors brought their own food, drinks, blankets and… grandkids. Music pieces included Mozart Divertimento No 1, 2 and 3, Vivaldi “Spring”, Vivaldi “Winter”, Schumann Traumerei, and Bach Arioso. What a lovely day to picnic in the garden!The Anderson-Shimkus Family, and garden designer, Joe
The Baker Family, and picnic organizer, Tom
View from the neighbors’ new home. Chinese fringe trees in bloom
, food by Molina’s and Moeller’s Bakery, wine, cocktails and beer provided (but, of course, you can also BYOB) and fun for the whole family. There will be the Mary Had a Little Party ice cream truck to go with your cake. Also, a natural wine tasting by Scout & Cellar.The Community Garden articles generally discuss growing vegetables, but did you know that the flower beds surrounding the vegetables contain a very intentional mix of plants? We wanted a nice screen for the vegetable beds, but we also wanted to incorporate fruit trees and native plants into the edges of the garden. We have pomegranate trees, persimmons, kumquats, and figs to name a few of our fruit trees. And we planted food and nectar plants for butterflies and insects. Our milkweed is quite popular with the monarch butterflies!
The Upper Texas Coast has around 340 species of birds that either live in or migrate through the area and more than a dozen species of butterflies. Providing habitat and food for them helps them in their migrations. In addition to birds and butterflies, the native species also attract pollinators and beneficial insects that allow our vegetables to prosper without the need for insecticides or chemical fertilizers.
Attracting birds, bee
Katy Prairie Conservancy advocates the planting of “pocket prairies” in sunny locations to help ameliorate the loss of our native prairies to development. MD Anderson and Rice University both have pocket prairies as do the University of Houston (Shasta’s Prairie) and University of South Texas (Father Meyer’s Prairie) I would encourage you to walk by the Spears home at 4108 University Blvd. They have made a pocket prairie from the lot adjoining their home. I went by last summer, and a stunning amount of butterflies and dragonflies were enjoying the habitat. These are all large installations, but a pocket prairie can be any size. A small bed in a sunny location will work, too. The Katy Prairie Conservancy site has helpful guidelines for making pocket prairies look like an intentional part of your landscape rather than like a wildscape.
Native plant beds can also foster an interest in science and biology for your children or your own hidden inner scientist. Count and identify the number of insects and butterflies in the area before you plant the natives. Then document how many appear after the plants are established and blooming. iNaturalist.org will help you log and identify plants, birds, and insects:. If you don’t know the name of what you have seen, submit a photo and users of the site will help you. It also has an interactive map which shows what has been identified around you.
If many people plant small stands of native plants, it will add up to increased beneficial habitat for wildlife and preserve our Texas heritage. Want to get involved in the Community Garden? Questions? Contact us at sspcgarden@gmail.com
Urban Harvest and Southside Place Community Garden rang in the Italian tradition to Houston with Cultivated Cocktails, a fundraiser benefitting both non-profits. Aperitivo cocktails, passed and stationed hors d’oeuvres, and Roman street-food-inspired pizzas from Pizza Motus were served. While this was supposed to be an al fresco event in the garden, the weather did not cooperate. So we partied inside the Southside Place Community Garden Clubhouse on Garnet.WHERE
Southside Place Clubhouse
WHEN
Southside Place Community Garden Photo courtesy of Urban Harvest
Three of Houston’s top mixologists Christine Nguyen (Nancy’s Hustle), Sara Keck (Coltivare), and Josh Alden (Mongoose Vs Cobra) created unique cocktails featuring fresh ingredients – each with an Italian twist. Attendees picked their favorite cocktail during the Cocktail Tip-Off. All tips went to benefit both Urban Harvest and Southside Place Community Garden. In addition to the cocktails, wine and beer will also be provided.
photo credit: David Elkin
My favorite time of the year in the garden is tomato time. The promise of home grown tomatoes is, in fact, the major reason I became involved in the garden. Yes, I am enough of a kid at heart to experience a thrill every time I harvest carrots and other root vegetables. I like the mystery of wondering how big they are beneath the soil. And despite my husband’s loathing, I love the summer okra, too. But hands down, tomatoes are my favorite!
photo by David Elkin
This year our tomatoes were babied with hand watering every day by Jim Sowers so we have a bumper crop. By the time this goes to print the harvest may be winding down in our garden, but you should still be able to find some home grown tomatoes at the farmers’ markets. Other than sliced and garnished with a drizzle of good Spanish olive oil and a little salt, my favorite way to enjoy my favorite tomatoes is to make gazpacho from them. I’m sharing my family’s favorite gazpacho recipe from the August 2002 issue of Gourmet magazine. Splurge on some good serrano and manchego to accompany the soup for an easy and refreshing meal during the dog days of July.
CLASSIC ANDALUSIAN GAZPACHO
INGREDIENTS
photo by David Elkin
rded
PREPARATION
