This Week in the Family Garden: Lenape Life

Posted in Programs and Events on October 10 2012, by Matt Newman

A blush in the leaves, a crunch underfoot, and as good a reason as any to pluck your wool fashions out of the closet: fall is here with cool weather in tow! And while the savvy of our horticulturists means we have an exceedingly long growing window in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, it’s time for the harvest to end and our green geniuses to make their way into planning for the future. In the meantime, we’re bidding a cheerful adieu to our one-acre vegetable garden as the area’s native tribes did before us, with knowledgeable preparation that almost anyone can take part in.

Even with temperatures dropping, the fun is only just getting into its swing. Our latest program goes by “Goodnight Garden,” and through October 28 it offers an opportunity to see off the last of our garden edibles with activities to suit autumn’s colorful changes. For that, we look to the Lenape people who once lived in this area year round. We’ll be hosting tried and true seed saving activities to help you prepare for the next planting, as well as cooking demonstrations to send off your late season harvest with a bang.

For now, I’ll let Assistant Manager Annie Novak do the explaining.

Goodnight Garden runs from now through October 28 in the Ruth Rea Howell Family Garden, which is open to visitors from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. daily.