Free Garden Catalogs

Help with designing a garden for school, please?

Hi everyone! Okay, so at my school, we do these design challenge things, and this time we have to design a garden. Well, the winning group gets to actually plant their garden and gets like 20 extra credit points in every class. I really want my group to win, but the thing is, we really don't know anything about gardening, so I was wondering if any of you experienced gardeners could kindly help me out with my questions? 1. What plants would grow successfully? Mainly vegetables, fruits and herbs. (This is around the Detroit, Michigan area, and the area we would have to plant in has partial sunlight [I think that's the correct term]) 2. We're close to a wooded area, so deer are a potential problem...I heard there was a flower you could put around your garden to discourage deer, but I'm not sure what it is. Thanks so much in advance, and I apologize for it being so long! -Katie ♥

Public Comments

1. the flower to keep the deer away is a marigold
2. I'd look on the web for landscaper design ideas.
3. Design your concept first.. School letters and colors in initials Or 2010! Even the word HELP Then choose flowers and plants that will create the look - speak to a local nursery about what flowers will help you make your design. Or use colored stones between letters in your school colors. If you have enough space set it up as a maze large enough for google maps to see it. http://edenmakersblog.com/wp-content/uploads/literacy-garden.jpg
4. Tomatoes, peppers, radishes, carrots are all fairly easy to grow, the tomatoes however, do need sunshine. herbs - basil, parsley, oregano, scallions Type in vegetablegardening in a search engine to give you some ideas Deer do not like daffodils and columbine, however, if you plant those now they won't come up until next year. You probably have to plant annuals at this time: impatiens, petunias, marigolds Small bushes - azaleas
5. Michigan has a history rich in Native American ancestry. Something in line with that would probably go over well. Perhaps a Tee-Pee garden? You can build the frame from native tree saplings and cover the frame with netting and use vining plants as the cover. I made one for my young daughter when she was about 4 years old and she loved it. She did the actual planting, weeding and harvesting so she was very interested in how everything was done. She used cucumbers, green beans and morning glory as the cover and planted sunflowers in front of the 'door' of the Tee-Pee. She also planted radishes, tomatoes, various flowers and several herbs (parsley, sage, rosemary, etc.) as filler plants around the basic structure. It was both beautiful and educational and, since she grew, tended and harvested it herself, she enjoyed eating the veggies. Good luck and enjoy!