Teaching Garden Virtual Tour

Kiwi Arbor

Actinidia arguta, commonly known as hardy kiwi or tara vine, is a deciduous, fast-growing, twining woody vine usually grown for its attractive foliage and edible fruit. It is native to woodlands, mountain forests, stream banks, and moist locations in eastern Asia, China and Japan. It grows to 25-30′ or more. In our garden, it creates the shade we need to enjoy our picnic tables.

Raised Beds

Raised beds bring the planting area above the ground, reduce soil compaction, improve drainage, and prevent weeds. They also make it easier for people with disabilities or mobility issues to garden. Because of our raised beds and hard-surfaced paths, people from the ARC can garden here.

More information about raised beds:

• University of Georgia

Bee Hotel

This structure’s shelves have nesting material to attract native solitary bees. Unlike the honey bees or bumble bees, solitary bees don’t live in a hive, sting, or make honey. Solitary bees are great pollinators — they can do so better than honey bees! Unfortunately, many of the 400+ bee species in NYS are more sensitive to environmental changes than honey bees, and their numbers may be declining. That’s why providing habitat for wild bees, like this bee hotel does, is important!

More information about wild bees:

• Cornell Pollinator Network

Head Start Garden

The Schuyler County Head Start wanted their outdoor play area to provide unstructured nature-based play. With the help of a grant, they created a kid-friendly area within our teaching garden. It allows for spontaneous outdoor play, an appreciation for the living things and a connection to the natural world.

Pollinator Garden

The plants here have a wide variety of shapes, sizes and blooming dates to attract many different pollinators. We also don’t keep this garden ‘tidy.’ Leaf litter, plant stems, and undisturbed soils are habitats for beneficial insects.

Depending on the time of year, you might find plants including Culver’s Root, Purple Coneflower, Wild Bergamot, Yarrow, and Mexican Sunflower.

Currants

Because of their tartness, people usually mix currants into juices, jams, and jellies, rather than eating them fresh. Currants are a great superfood and are loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants. NYS banned currants until as late as 2003 because currants can host a fungus that infects trees.

More information about currants:

• University of Massacusetts Amherst
• Cornell Chronicle

Bush Cherries

Designed to grow on the prairies of Canada, the University of Saskatchewan produced these bush cherries. Their fruit is tart, deep red in color, has a high sugar content and lots of antioxidants.

More information about bush cherries:

• University of Saskatchewan
• BBC Travel

Gooseberries

When ripe, gooseberries are very sweet and reddish purple in color, great for jams or berry sauces. Gooseberries are even edible when unripe – the green berries are particularly tart and great for pies and desserts. A one cup serving of gooseberries provides about half your daily value of vitamin C, and a quarter of your daily fiber.

More information about gooseberries:

• Cooking Light

Site of Future Greenhouse

An outdoor greenhouse allows us to create hands-on classrooms for Head Start youth where math and science projects unfold. Master Gardeners can show students how to grow food while providing a source of veggies for school meals. They can also become an integral part of our community garden.

Figs

Figs are sweet, soft, and chewy, and have crunchy, edible seeds throughout. They spoil easily and are often dried. Figs and their leaves offer many health benefits. They can promote healthy digestion, decrease the risk of heart disease, and help manage blood sugar levels.

More information about figs:

• BBC Good Food
• Healtline

Compost

Compost is rich decomposing organic matter that improves soil quality and helps plants grow better without chemicals. We compost to reduce our garden waste, improve our soil, and reduce our need for fertilizers.

More information about compost:

• Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County

Manchurian Apricot

Also known as bush apricots, these trees can act as small windbreaks, provide nesting sites for songbirds. Their fruits are used fresh, processed, or dried. Apricots provide phloretin, an antibiotic, and are sometimes used for coughs, colds, gout, and cancer research.

Blueberries

Blueberries are low in calories because they have less sugar than other fruits. They’re also full of nutrients and antioxidants. Blueberries can help prevent age-related diseases, lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease, fight against diabetes, and help maintain brain function.

More information about blueberries:

• EatingWell
• Healthline

Honeyberry Trial

While they’re new to European and North American gardeners, cooler Asian and Eastern European regions have cultivated honeyberries for centuries. Honeyberries are related to honeysuckle bushes but have edible fruits. The grape-shaped berries have more antioxidants than blueberries and can taste like blackberries, cherries, grapes, or kiwis. Honeyberries are hardy, grow well in poor soils, and ripen early in the spring – even before strawberries!

More information about honeyberries:

• Honeyberry USA
• Gardening Know How

Outdoor Classroom

Being the most central spot in our garden, this outdoor stage with bench seating allows us to teach from a central platform. We use the 4 raised beds along the perimeter of the classroom for teaching programs. We’re also trialing grapes in our outdoor classroom which provide a natural shade canopy.

Elderberry

Elderberries are dark purple and grow in bunches. They aren’t edible raw – the berries contain toxins that cooking removes. The berries are good in jams, jellies, syrups, pies, juice, and even wine.

Elderberries are loaded with vitamin A, C, antioxidants, and fiber. Eating elderberry can reduce the duration and severity of cold and flu and upper respiratory symptoms. They may even reduce cholesterol and blood sugar.

More information about elderberries:

• Healthline
• Runner’s World

Apple Espalier

“Fruit walls” of espaliered trees first appeared in mid-16th-century Europe. Espaliered fruit trees grow flat against a wall, fence, or trellis. Our espaliered apple trees give our garden a natural fence while enjoying several varieties of apples all while taking up very little space in our garden.

More information about espaliers:

• Chicago Botanic Garden
• Low Tech Magazine

CU Veggie Variety Trials

The Vegetable Variety Trial Garden Project (VVTG) is for CCE programs and affiliates across NYS who grow veggie demonstration gardens. The VVTG’s goal is to find which cultivars are best for growing in NYS.

More information about the program:

• Cornell Garden-Based Learning

Quince of Russia

Quince trees have been cultivated in Turkey and Southeast Asia for centuries. Their fruits look and grow similarly to pears. But, unlike pears, they are almost inedible when eaten raw because of their tough, spongy, bitter fruit. But their high levels of Vitamin C and pectin make them a great fruit to eat cooked. Quinces can be eaten boiled, poached, stewed, or baked, and can be used for jams, jellies, baked goods, and canning. When stewed in a little sugar and water, quinces become soft, tender, flavorful, and fragrant.

More information about quinces:

• Jung Seed Company
• Kitchn
• Video: How to eat a Quince | Easy Baked Quince Recipe

Shade Pollinator Garden

You can still do your part to help pollinators! While bees and butterflies need the warm sun in the morning to dry the dew off their wings, they can oftentimes be found seeking the refuge of shade in the hot afternoon. A large variety of blooms, both sun-loving and shade-loving, can draw a wide variety of pollinators.

Rhubarb

Technically a vegetable, like celery, the stalks of the rhubarb plant are legally – and commonly eaten as – a fruit. While you can eat the bright pink stalks when they’re ripe in April to June, you can’t eat the leaves – they’re quite toxic! Because the stalks are very tart and tough when raw, they’re often cooked and sweetened with sugar, and then eaten in jams, sauces, pies, tarts, and baked goods.

While rhubarb is low in calories and in some essential nutrients, rhubarb counters with loads of fiber and antioxidants.

More information about rhubarb:

• Huff Post Life
• Healthline

Amelia J. Cornish Memorial Garden

Mrs. Cornish passed at the age of 93 and was a member of the Schuyler County Solid Waste Management Task Force, Schuyler County Environmental Task Force, and the Schuyler County Historical Society.

Her achievements included supporting conservation, animal welfare and the environment and establishing the local recycling program This memorial stands for all the years of service to Schuyler County!

Permaculture Guild

Permaculture is the incorporation of ecological principles into gardens, farms, homesteads, and urban sites.

A Guild is any group of species that exploit the same resources, often in related ways. Guilds are groups of plants, animals, insects, etc. that work well together.

Our permaculture guild contains groups of plants that reduce the garden’s maintenance and inputs.

Cherry Plum

The cherry plum tree’s unique color makes it a popular ornamental tree.

Cherry plums contain substances that break down in water to form hydrocyanic acid, which stimulates the body’s respiration, improves digestion, and improves overall health.

The fruits are edible and are a good source of potassium, calcium, phosphate, vitamin B and C, which help the body’s metabolism and nervous system.

They can be used for pies, jams, tarts, and more.

More information about cherry plums:

• University of Redlands