Come visit the Lucy C. Roussel Discovery Garden for a day of exploration, discovery and fun. 

This 1/2-acre interactive garden is a place where plants, children of all ages, and imaginations grow.

Enjoy a view of the garden from the giant, living sundial.  Delight in the mysterious bamboo tunnel, working vegetable garden, wind through the whimsical herb maze, open the gate to our Secret Garden, and design a Butterfly Garden.

Children and adults alike can learn about the vegetables we eat and the plants that give us food, clothing, and shelter.  Come discover the herbs and flowers that flavor our cooking and help cure our colds and stomach aches.  Everyone is invited to touch and smell the flowers.

This is an innovative garden experience for the entire family to enjoy.  Visit the Lucy C. Roussel Discovery Garden and see how a garden grows!

Discovery Garden News

Summer is here and that means tending to your garden. Gardening doesn’t mean pulling weeds and raking leaves. Gardening means expressing your creativity, growing the biggest tomato, planting a salsa garden. Ask your parents for a small piece of the garden that you can call your own.

What you’ll need

Piece of large construction paper 
Markers 
Seedlings and/or seeds 
Shovel 
Popsicle sticks 
Glue

Draw up a plan

On a sheet of paper, mark where you want to place each vegetable, herb or flower.

Pick a location

Choose a sunny spot that is away from tall trees and close to a hose connection.

Prepare your garden area

Mark the outline of your garden bed. If there is grass, dig it and the top soil up to a depth of 8 inches. Add some compost or fertilizer to the soil. Before you plant, rake the soil to break up the clumps.

Plant your seeds and seedlings

Ask an adult to take you to a garden center where you can choose from a variety of seasonal seed packs and seedlings. Try some of each. Seeds take longer but are fun to watch as they sprout. Seedlings are easier and they are ready to harvest sooner.

Label your plants

You don’t want to forget what or where you planted. Hint: Glue a seed packet or picture of the plant to a popsicle stick.

Tend to your garden

Water your garden early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Give your plants some fertilizer. Soon, your crops will be ready to harvest.

What to plant:

Vegetables:
tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant, squash 

Herbs:
basil, parsley, chives
Flowers: daisies, zinnias, marigolds You’ll need:
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 large or 2 medium tomatoes
4 peppers (hot, green, red or a
combination)
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 teaspoon lemon juice
                           
1. Ask an adult to help you chop the onions, peppers, and tomatoes into small chunks.

2. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. Let the salsa sit for a few minutes until all the flavors blend.

4. Serve in a bowl with vegetable sticks or corn chips. Tomatoes are the state fruit of Ohio. They contain vitamins A, C, and B, potassium, phosphorus, and calcium. Today’s ketchup, which comes from tomatoes, began as ketchup. This was a spicy Malayan fish sauce made with
various ingredients, including oysters, walnuts, shrimp, and tomatoes.