Highland BLOOMS: Swiss Chard & Other Veggie Tales

With seven unique outdoor environments featured at our first Highland BLOOMS event, it's hard to know which one to explore next.  I think we will take a ramble about an organic vegetable garden located on the front lawn of one of our neighborhood homes.  And no, it doesn't bother me at all that people in our neighborhood have vegetables growing in their front yards.  Highland is an area with many tall trees and, therefore, much shade.  You have to hunt for a bit of sunny ground. 

Moreover, with the growing disconnect between us and the food we put in our mouths, I applaud anyone's efforts to grow their own food.  I love the Slow Food Movement, the community garden coalitions and local Farmers' Markets even though I don't always practice what I preach and eat my share of overly processed foods.

Tour goers arrive to take a guided tour of this front yard "Victory Garden"

Chalk footsteps welcome tour goers to this garden.

Plantings along either side of the wrought iron fence

I adore Swiss Chard, hint, hint....

In true Southern fashion, a parasol is an essential accessory on a hot day. 

And a fashion-forward young helper

Everyone received a chart of the garden to show what the home owner has planted.  She and her husband are growing 80-plus different vegetables here. 

While this makes the Early Head Start garden look a bit skimpy by comparison, I am also proud of our efforts and hope we might plant a seed, literally and figuratively, that will inspire others to attempt to grow some of their own food.

One section of Early Head Start garden.

Early Head Start student studies bean he planted!