On Saturday, October 30 at 8:30, the Landscaping Committee would like to invite you to a work day to address the next phase of restoring our grounds and living out our commitment to Healing our GSLC Earth. Please bring your spade or shovel, water bottle, and work gloves.

The focus of this work day will be the North Side, including:

o   Ginger’s Garden refresh

o   Bee lawn preparation (raking / rototilling) and seeding

o   Corner bed hosta and bulb garden

Ginger’s Garden: A regular limestone border around the garden that ties-in with the hardscaping in the other new landscaping will be installed. After observing which plants survived and thrived in the area this season, the Landscape team have identified plants that need to be moved or replaced to provide continuity across our gardens.

Bee lawn: This summer, Lynn Railsback piloted a bee lawn at her home with great success that we hope to replicate. A bee lawn has a mixture of plants that have deeper roots than traditional sod to help with water issues, it offers food for pollinators, and it can be mowed and walked on like a traditional lawn. The Bee Lawn should need less water than a traditional lawn and will generally stay greener in times of drought. The seed mix selected includes a variety of fescues, clovers, creeping thyme, and self-heal. This mix should provide a green lawn across the sunny and shady parts of the parkway.

Corner bed: Hostas and bulbs continue to be a staple in the Midwest gardens. There’s something inherently hopeful about planting bulbs and in preparation of spring. We will have many bulbs to plant amongst the hostas for spring color. Please feel free to donate bulbs as well. The long-term plan for this space is evolving as resources are available.