Thanks to everyone who helped out on our fall work days

Thanks to the beautiful weather and our generous volunteers, we were able to accomplish everything on our wish list and more, and will be ready to move forward with new projects in the spring! We're excited to announce that this year's Pink Tulip Garden will be located in front of the school, where it will be more visible to the community. Very special thank-yous to the following folks: Risbara's Greenhouse for providing compost at a discounted rate; John Thurston for use of his dump truck; Jodi Moger, master gardener; Connie Tidd, Wisteria Whisperer; Marianne Snekvik, super grandmother. As always, thanks to Mr. Jordan, dad of Peter and William, for continuing to take care of the pond. Many thanks to all the Kindergarten classes, as well as the classes of Mrs. Peterson, Ms. Sirois, and Mrs. Burr for planting over a hundred bulbs. No doubt we will greatly appreciate your efforts in the spring!

Mrs. Peterson's 5th grade class harvesting vegetables in the Poet's Hideaway

October Update

The garden has been getting a lot of use since school began. Here are just a few examples of what our students have been up to. Our kindergarteners have made a number of trips to the garden to see the sunflowers they planted during their mini-visit, return their hatched Monarch butterflies to nature, and visit the pond and vegetable beds. The kindergarteners have also been out in the garden with our art teacher, Ms. Maher, to make detailed observational drawings of their sunflowers and the surrounding beds. 3rd graders in Mrs. Sirois’ class are in the process of studying plants, and have been out to the garden to collect leaves, find seeds, see how plants are growing, and observe what various plants do and do not have in common. The garden is also a popular spot for book buddies and independent reading time.

The Pink Tulip Project

Please join us Saturday Nov. 7th at 9:00 AM in the Poet's Hideaway to help plant 100 pink tulips! The Longfellow Pink Tulip Garden is part of the Pink Tulip Project, a fundraising project that benefits the Women's Cancer Fund at the Maine Cancer Foundation.

Welcome back!

It has been a busy summer in the Poet's Hideaway! Thanks to the hard work of our parent volunteers, the garden is in great shape for the start of a new school year. A new addition to the space this fall is a milkweed patch, which will provide food and habitat for monarch butterfly studies. The patch is a work in progress, and we still need donations of milkweed plants. Jenny Siler and Megan Abercrombie (both 1st grade parents) will be taking over coordination of the garden this year. We have some great things planned, so please check back for updates and events.

Upcoming fall work days: November 3rd and 7th.

Looking for a way to burn off all those extra calories from the Spaghetti Supper? Join us on Tuesday, November 3rd or Saturday, November 7th (that's the same day as the Spaghetti Supper) for our fall work days. We will be cleaning out the beds, hauling compost, and getting the garden ready for winter. Both events run from 9-noon, and we will have childcare and goodies at the Saturday event. Raindate: Sunday, November 8th.