The Yard in Use: 2011 BHSEC Neighborhood Festival

Here are some pictures of the yard during the BHSEC 2011 Neighborhood/Lower East Side Schools Music Festival which was held on Saturday, May 21st.

BHSEC Chorus & Stein Senior Center Chorus

LES Elementary school PS34 guitar ensemble

BHSEC Orchestra

BHSEC Special Projects Mgr., Kristi Powell-Grenfell; BHSEC Principal, Michael Lerner; State Senator Daniel Squadron; State Assembly Member, Brian Kavanagh; Baruch Tenants' Assoc. President, Mr. Roberto Napoleon, Baruch Tenants' Assoc. President; Rosemarie Diaz, Community Liaison for Daniel Squadron

Festival goers in the garden

BHSEC Rock band & trees/garden

Festival goers in the garden

The Yard on May 20, 2011

These pictures were taken out in the yard on Friday May 20th--the day before the Neighborhood Festival. There are two sets of pictures. One set of the new raised vegetable beds and one set of the trees.

THE RAISED VEGETABLE BEDS:

THE TREES: They are HUGE!

Signs of Spring

Right now it's 50 degrees but the temperatures are predicted to dip down to 27 on Thursday and Friday night. I hope these signs of spring can make it through to next week!

The Secret of Getting Students to Use the Garden

BHSEC student use of The Bard Yard has been a regular topic of conversation every time garden committee members get together. Reports of how many were seen, in which section, and what exactly they were doing always comes up whenever we meet.

This year there is more of everything to draw people toward the yard--more shade, more seats, and more flowering plants. But I heard something through the grapevine that really indicates to me that the students will be using the garden more than ever--there is a wifi hotspot somewhere on the Mangin Street side!

Big Week at Bard

There was lot going on at BHSEC this week. First, Ray Peterson announced his retirement. I heard, through my daughter, that the students gave him a huge round of applause when he announced this to them on Tuesday. They are very sad about his leaving. The Gardening Committee has a lot to thank him for (besides his school leadership). If not for him the "Bard Yard" would not look as good as it does now, or as gorgeous as it is bound to be later this spring and summer.

Second it was Parent-teacher conference week. It was my last one at Bard and I enjoyed visiting with teachers and other parents in the hallways. I saw Kristi and Susan and they both mentioned the new growth they observed in the garden.


Kristi mentioned seeing buds on the trees. Great news--they survived the winter!


And the bulbs are sprouting and flowering.


It looks like three different types of bulbs are coming up here.

The plants in this pot survived the winter too.

The moon is visible in this picture (it was about 3 in the afternoon). Can anyone out there identify trees by shape?