Work parties are happening Friday, June 11, 10am-2pm and Saturday, June 12, 10am-2pm at the Foster-Powell Community Garden, the SW corner of 62nd & Powell. It’s also Vicki’s 40th birthday!

A message from Vicki:

“Hopefully you’ve noticed some of the changes around the FPCG lately. Flowers of all kinds are blooming, bees are buzzing, a raised bed of tomatoes is “bean-stalking” its way to the sky. In the evening new solar lights outline the fence, as does the floral artwork of the neighborhoods finest artists. There has been some cleaning, weeding and planting. Wood keeps disappearing from the lot and reappearing as raised bed ends! Some mulch has been spread and pumpkins are getting ready to spill out of a temporary bed. Keep an eye on them as they grow, you can purchase them in the Fall at our Harvest Festival…

What? You didn’t notice all that? That’s because there is still a ton of work to be done!

I don’t want to twist anyone’s arm here but we really do need your help! We have big projects on the burner for July 11th and 12th and many hands make light work. Also, my 40th birthday is this weekend and help in the garden is the present I most desire!

Kids are welcome (if supervised on our busy street corner), an hour of your time makes a huge difference to us and this garden is for everyone who experiences it, whether or not you wind up growing your own veg here. This place stands as a statement of our neighborhood and of the power of community and that is the best reason to give up a little bit of your weekend to help.

Here are some of the fine plans we have for July:

• Weed and lay mulch over the flower/natives slope (this has been started but only about 1/4 of it is done). Bring your own weeding tool and gloves if you have them, or use what we have. Also, the sidewalk area always needs weeding and it can be done at any time.

• Assemble 10 raised beds!(John has been hard at work assembling the ends to make this go quickly. Thanks to our Oregonian inspired angel donors, we have funds to build 1/2 of our beds and purchase our first cistern this Fall. Bring a cordless screwdriver if you can help with assembly!
• Spread mulch over the asphalt around the pumpkin patch.
• Continue work on the masonry walls and walkways (we still need lots of broken concrete for this).
• Shed cleaning and organizing
• Plastic chair cleaning and painting.

Looking forward to spending time with all my neighborhood heroes this coming weekend, Vicki”

Find more information about the garden here.