Hello and Happy Winter!
The zinnias had a great run and produced so many colorful flowers. Teachers and students enjoyed watching the butterflies flitting from flower to flower. The zinnias reached the end of their life cycle before Thanksgiving. First grade students enjoyed harvesting the flowers, and got to practice their fine motor skills as they clip flowers, in order to save seeds.
The African Blue Basil is the star of the garden now. They have reached the peak of their purple blooms, but will continue to bloom until a hard frost comes. They are not a native plant, but one of the last options for native bees to find nectar this time a year. Once a deep freeze hits, they will wilt and brown, and we will leave the browned leaves up through winter. They provide a nesting habitat for bees and other insects who like to hibernate during the winter.
The fennel is still blooming, too. Those dainty yellow flowers will soon turn into seeds that taste like licorice! We will leave them to dry throughout the winter, and the seeds will be a natural bird feeder.
Other plants like to take a long rest in winter, too. So the garden may look like it’s struggling, but the plants are just resting, sending energy to their roots, and they will return in the spring. Plants that die in the winter and return in the spring are called perennials.
In mid-December, arugula, kale, and poppy flower seeds were planted. The arugula and kale are great winter vegetables, and we will see beautiful red poppy flowers in the early spring.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Mrs.Cornais
Environmental and Earth Space Science Instructor
Episcopal School of Jacksonville-Munnerlyn Campus
