Dear Friends,
It’s called June Gloom, overcast mornings; the sun shines through later in the day or not at all. Sometimes the ground is moist. I love these overcast mornings; the plants are covered with heavy mist, and as you stroll through your garden with your thick sweater on because the morning is chilly, you see the drops of water on the leaves and on the blades of grass. These are the perfect days for gardening, especially for planting in the early morning, and if the sun stays behind the clouds or breaks through, just a bit, the young plants can settle in before the heat of the coming days.
Here at the Virginia Robinson Gardens, these mornings are especially beautiful as the mist surrounds the huge Coral tree and hangs in the Palm Forest amongst the many palms and over the Children’s Wildlife Pond. It’s quiet and the birds chirp a little later in the morning. It is a special time to enjoy the moment and a special way to greet the day.
Our vegetable garden is being readied for our Children’s Science tours. We actually have begun our tours and had two children’s tours in May and plan to have two more this month before school ends. The schoolchildren have not been able to participate in our tours or come to the gardens for over two years because of the pandemic. Before the pandemic, approximately 2,000 children came yearly, participating in our Children’s Science tours here at the gardens. If you are a steady reader of this message, you know that we started the Semi-Virtual Children’s Science Program during this time to continue to offer a science program to the children and took the curriculum to them through their schools and teachers. We will offer both programs in the future to reach as many children as possible. Just this past May, 400 of the next unit “Ecosystem of A Pond…A Frog’s Life” were distributed to the schoolchildren in grades 3-4. These science programs are funded by grants. The Rotary Club of Beverly Hills has been a great supporter of our children’s science programs and has recently granted the program $10,000. These funds will be used for our units focusing on nutrition and healthy eating.
We are cognizant of the fact that we are experiencing a drought. Lack of rain and snowpack in the mountains has led us to a summer of water restrictions in most areas of Southern California. To help address this issue, in the works are classes on water conservation and drought-tolerant plants. Also, for those gardeners who like to grow their own vegetables or would like to start a garden, we will have a class on vegetable gardening and the importance of bees. We will send out information on the date and time and post these classes in our events section of the website as soon as they are scheduled.
Summer is the time to go to the Farmer’s Market to get fresh berries and flowers, of beach-going, hiking in our local mountains, cycling, taking long walks, or just reading your book under the shade of the old California Sycamore tree. How fortunate are we, here in Southern California to be able to enjoy the ocean breezes and sunny days.
May the gloom of June bring you the sunny days of July.
Warmly,
Betty Rodriguez Goldstein
President of the Friends of Robinson Gardens
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