All gardening is landscape painting. William Keat
Visit The Giving Garden on the Art and Garden Tour
Sponsored by the Wake Forest Garden Club
Renowned Fine Artist, Jean Grunewald, will showcase her artistic talent at The Giving Garden
Website: www.jeangrunewald.com and www.artbyjean.com
Founding member of www.PAINTNC.org, a plein air group in Raleigh, NC since 2007
Member of PSA, OPA, ISA, AAEA and WPSE
Ticket information: www.wfgardenclub.org
Proceeds benefit the Wake Forest Historical Museum Gardens
and ongoing projects of the
Wake Forest Garden Club
April Events
9th EASTER – No garden workday
Giving Garden Tee shirt
orders due
15th First tomato planting
22nd EARTH DAY, Plant pole beans
and cucumbers
28th Art & Garden Tour 2-5 pm
29th 5th ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATION 12-2:30 pm
29th Note: Art & Garden Tour at
The Giving Garden from
3-5 pm only on Saturday
Be a friend of The Giving Garden.
Volunteer!
We don't just grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers at The Giving Garden.
We grow gardeners, too!
We had a great turn out for our first Hands-On Gardening Workshop in collaboration with NC State Extension Master Gardeners of Wake County. Participants learned essential gardening techniques to grow produce in container gardens, raised beds, and row gardens.
"Life begins the day you start a garden." Chinese Proverb
News You Can Use
Lawn Care
Lightly fertilize bermudagrass or zoysia grass in April.
Mow tall fescue to 4 inches, bermudagrass to 2, and zoysia grass to 1-2.
During April if you find more than 8 – 10 white grubs per square foot of turf consider using controls to manage the Japanese beetle population and prevent mole issues in the coming month.
Fertilization Protocol
Shrubs planted last growing season should be fertilized now as well as early spring flowering plants, including forsythia and evergreen hollies.
Shrubs not planted last growing season do not normally need to be fertilized now.
Once you can determine whether your fruit trees have any surviving fruit, (that late freeze was hard on a lot of our fruit trees), you should fertilize now, but if there is no surviving fruit, do not fertilize.
Perennials and Annuals
During the first half of April, plant perennials such as Coneflowers, Dianthus, Daylilies and Coralbells, & Annuals such as Begonia, Lantana.
Angelonia should be planted after April 15th, which is considered our last frost date, but of course, this was before climate change, so everyone is having to adjust.
Gladiolas corns can be planted this month. For continuous blooms plant corns every two weeks through mid-June.
All warm season vegetables including beans, cantaloupe, melons, cucumbers, and tomatoes can be planted toward the end of the month.
For hands on practice, come to the Giving Garden on Tuesdays or Saturday mornings and help plant for hunger relief.
Pruning
Trim flowering shrubs such as Azalea, and Weigela after blooming.
It’s still time for rejuvenating pruning of overgrown hollies, Ligustrum, and Cleyera.
Cut out all cold and wind damaged branches. (We had a deep cold blast in December that caused lots of this type of damage.) If there is severe freeze damaged, the branch may have to be cut back severely but remember to leave a few inches of the plant, as the base is less susceptible to injury.
Pest Control
Check Azalea for lace bugs on leaves.
Check Camelia and Winged Euonymus (Burning Bush) for scale on the twigs and branches. (We found scale on the Winged Euonymus at WFPC just the other day, so it definitely not too soon.)
Spray Protocol
Remember to start your spraying (organic or chemical) vegetables, roses, and fruit to control insects and diseases.
"If I am hungry, that is a material problem;
if someone else is hungry, that is a spiritual problem. Paul Farmer
Wake Forest Community Table
The Giving Garden provides fresh seasonal fruits, vegetables to Wake Forest Community Table twice a week from spring through fall. The Giving Garden is part of a collaboration of more than a dozen churches and civic organizations in Wake Forest that helps WFCT provide free meals to neighborhoods where there is insufficient access to quality food to meet basic needs.
WFCT’s chef, Gwen Sneed, works her magic with whatever ingredients are available to create delicious and nutritious meals. Since January, WFCT has served 1,098 meals, 1,350 pounds of produce and over 1,000 breakfast sandwiches to our community. The WFCT is largely funded by church partners and private donations.
Joy Shillingsburg founded Wake Forest Community Table (formerly Wake Forest Community Meals) in the summer of 2017 through St. John’s Episcopal Church. Meals were originally offered weekly at Olive Branch Baptist Church. With the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, WFCT began offering meals outdoors at Hope House. WFCT officially became a 501c3 non-profit in Oct. 2022. Since its inception in 2017, WFCT has served more than 25,000 meals to our neighbors with food insecurity!
Free Meals:
Mondays, 5 pm – 5:30 pm at Hope House (334 N. Allen Rd., Wake Forest)
Wednesdays, 6 pm – 6:30 pm at Olive Branch (326 E. Juniper Ave, Wake Forest)
Walk up or drive through. Containers are provided or you can bring your own.
Help Needed:
There are a range of opportunities for you, your church, civic group, or business to help WFCT get food to our neighbors each week and to serve at a WFCT site (15 yrs. and older).
Please see WFCT website for details and volunteer registration. https://www.facebook.com/wakeforestcommunitytable
Symposiums: WFCT gathers members of our community 4 times/year to explore the causes of local food insecurity in Wake Forest through sharing stories and learning about our community’s history. Please see WFCT’s website for information about these gatherings.
For more information:
Please contact Joy Shillingsburg at 919-229-9015 or joy.wfcommunitytable@gmail.com
Guests in the Garden: The Giving Garden has developed a close relationship with St. John’s Episcopal Church. Families from St John’s volunteer in the garden one evening a month from April – October. We love getting to know these families. We welcome the opportunity to help parents and their children get excited about planting and harvesting food.
All are welcome at Wake Forest Community Table
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing food insecurity, come break bread at the table.
Giving Garden Tee Shirt Orders (Adult Sizes Only)
Garden tees are being sold at cost. The maximum price will be $20, but the price may decrease depending on the number of orders placed. Payment will be taken at the time of delivery. Orders can be placed through Easter, April 9th.
Email questions or orders to rgroper@gmail.com.
Recipes
Broccoli, Lettuces, Peas, and Radishes are in season.
