Julie’s Fresh Heirloom Tomato Salad
This tomato salad recipe is inspired by my nature-based garden in Michigan, where a variety of heirloom tomatoes brings vibrant color and fresh flavor to every dish. We started gardening this way over a decade ago, and now it’s a lush, thriving space that yields beautiful fruit with minimal effort. At this time of year, […]
Sip & Savor: An Heirloom Tomato and Mocktail Experience
We had an unforgettable evening in the garden, celebrating the beauty and flavors of heirloom tomatoes and refreshing mocktails (non-alcoholic) crafted by mixologist Michael Bryan, featuring fresh herbs from the gardens. Guests delighted in an Heirloom Tomato Tasting, savoring and comparing a variety of flavorful heirloom tomatoes grown at H.O.P.E Gardens. They also enjoyed fresh […]
Growing Together: FitKids Families and HOPE Gardens Wednesday Evenings
by Kathy Bego Illuminated by the glinting early evening sun, teenage participants in FitKids and their families planted ten raised garden beds in UCOM’s community garden at Marquette Park this week. From late May through early August, families from FitKids will join HOPE Gardens staff on Wednesday nights to garden together. Each Wednesday evening begins […]
Planting and Caring for Brasicas (such as broccoli, cabbage, kale, and cauliflower) in Your Garden
Let’s Plant Some Peas!
Let’s Pop Some Pea Seeds into the Garden! Whether it rains or snows, pea plants are one of the stars of spring planting. Like other cool weather crops, peas can be planted in these March and April days of changing weather. Choose between lower bush varieties or the climbing types of peas (check the seed […]
Winter Sowing!
Convert spring fever into spring seedlings with Winter Sowing! For “winter sowing”, we plant seeds in milk jugs or other semi-transparent plastic containers. Placed outside in January or February, these mini-greenhouses expose seeds to the cold temperatures that some wildflowers and other perennials need to experience before germinating. How about broccoli, kale, or dill? The […]
FitKids 360 Harvest Fest
This week families in Fitkids celebrated their gardens’ summer harvest with a dinner in Marquette Park’s gazebo. Once just tiny seedlings, plants are now stretching ever higher, filling the boxes and climbing trellises in this very green community garden. The Fitkid families, together with HOPE garden staff, planted and now tend six garden boxes. The […]
Summer in Our School Gardens
At H.O.P.E Gardens, we have been excited to engage students in various enriching activities in our school gardens this summer. To begin, we taught the art of transplantation, guiding students as they learned how to carefully move seedlings that had sprouted from seeds. This hands-on experience provided them with valuable skills and knowledge about plant […]
Unearthing the Garden’s Secret Helpers: Worms
As spring unfolded, our students embarked on an eye-opening journey into the intricate world of garden ecology. They uncovered the invaluable role played by worms, nature’s unsung heroes, in nurturing our green spaces. These humble creatures devour organic matter and fallen leaves, converting them into nutrient-rich soil that forms the bedrock of vibrant plant life. […]
We had a Workshop
On Saturday, March 11, we hosted a Rengenerative Garden Workshop at Flowerland in Wyoming, MI. Hope Gardens’ staff taught community members how to install their own no-till, regenerative (nature-based) garden. Regenerative gardening is an approach to sustainable food and farming systems that regenerates topsoil and enhances biodiversity now and long into the future. This practice […]