Benjamin Franklin School and Demonstration Gardens
(click on program to jump to it)
■ Benjamin Franklin School Horticulture Program
■ Thursdays in the Garden Programs
■ In the Gardens this Year - Demonstrations
■ The Gardens
    Herb Garden
    Perennial Garden
    Vegetable Garden

Benjamin Franklin School Horticulture Program

Master Gardeners teach horticulture classes to students of Benjamin Franklin School, an elementary school in the Cleveland Public Schools system. Hands-in-the-soil teaching includes growing crops in the school garden behind the school. In the autumn, in-coming students harvest and taste crops planted the previous spring. In the spring, the students plant crops for the following autumn. Click here to read students' thank you notes. Click here for historical information on the Cleveland Public Schools Horticulture Program and the Ben Franklin School and Garden from the Cleveland Memory Project, the showcase for the Special Collections in the CSU Library, Two streaming videos of the historical CPS Horticultural Program are linked (click to play): 1) Who Grows the Most? 2) I-38 Miles Garden Activities.

Click on picture for larger image.

Ben Franklin School Garden Class Building	School Room Entrance	School Room	School Room	Classroom instruction	Classroom instruction
Classroom instruction	School Garden Sign	School Garden Entrance	School Garden early July	School Garden early July	Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes mid-July
School Garden mid-August	School Garden mid-August	School Garden mid-August	School Garden mid-August	Passionfruit Vine mid-August	Passionfruit Flower mid-August
Passionfruit Flower with Bee mid-August	Dahlia mid-August	School Garden mid-September	Dahlia mid-September	Dahlia mid-September	School Garden mid-September
School Garden late October	School Garden late October	School Garden late October	School Garden late October	late-January	late-January
Potato Lesson	Digging Potatoes	Weighing Potatoes

Thursdays in the Garden
Master Gardeners work throughout the growing season on Thursday mornings at 10:00 in the demonstration gardens (Herb, Perennial and Vegetable) behind Ben Franklin School, weather permitting. The public is free to visit, observe the demonstrations gardens and ask the Master Gardeners questions. Ben Franklin School is located at 1905 Spring Rd., Cleveland (Old Brooklyn). (map) Park in front of the school and walk back to the garden area.

In the Gardens this Year:
Programs are offered to the public by the Master Gardeners on scheduled days in the demonstration gardens behind Ben Franklin School, 1905 Spring Rd., weather permitting. These programs are free. Ben Franklin School is located at 1905 Spring Rd., Cleveland (Old Brooklyn). (map) Park in front of the school and walk back to the garden area. You may want to bring a folding chair. All persons attending any of the Thursday OSU Extension Demonstrations at Ben Franklin are more than welcome to visit and ask questions of the Master Gardeners at any of the other demonstration gardens (Herb, Perennial and Vegetable).

See pictures of some of the past demonstrations below.
Click on picture for larger image.

Herb Demonstration	Herb Demonstration	Herb Demonstration	Herb Demonstration	Perennial Demo Garden Planning	Perennial Demo Garden Planning
Perennial Demo Garden Planning	Perennial Demo Garden Planning	Perennial Demo Garden Planning	Perennial Demo Garden Planning	Vegetable Demo Composting	Vegetable Demo Composting
Vegetable Demo Crop Rotation	Vegetable Demo Harvesting	Diagnostic Gaden Walk	Diagnostic Gaden Walk	Diagnostic Gaden Walk	Diagnostic Gaden Walk
Diagnostic Gaden Walk	Diagnostic Gaden Walk	Potpourri Demonstration	Potpourri Demonstration	Potpourri Demonstration	Potpourri Demonstration
Potpourri Demonstration

DIAGNOSTIC WALK
■ Diagnostic Walks are held on specified Thursdays, Free - Cuyahoga County Master Gardeners are hosting a diagnostic walks with Ohio State University Extension Educators at the Ben Franklin Demonstration Gardens. Be on hand to identify and discuss the gardening issues of the day.


The Gardens:

The Herb Garden
(Click on picture for larger image)

Herb Garden Sign	mid-April	mid-May	mid-May	mid-June	mid-June
early July	early July	early July	mid-July	mid-July	mid-July
mid-September	mid-September	mid-September	late October	late October	late January

The Perennial Garden
(Click on picture for larger image)

Perennial Garden Entrance	mid-April Clean-Up	mid-May	mid-May	mid-June	mid-June
mid-June	mid-June	mid-July	mid-July	mid-July	mid-July
mid-July	mid-July	mid-July	mid-July	mid-July	mid-July
mid-July	mid-July	late July	late July	late July	late July
late July	mid-August	mid-August	mid-August	mid-August	mid-August
mid-August	mid-August	early September	early September	early September	mid-September
mid-September	late October	late October	late October	late October	late October
late January

The Vegetable Garden
(Click on picture for larger image)

Vegetable Garden Sign	mid-April	mid-April	mid-April	mid-May	mid-May
mid-June	mid-June	mid-July	mid-July	mid-July	mid-July
mid-July	late July	mid-August	mid-August	mid-August	mid-August
Cabbage mid-August	Butternut Squash mid-August	early September	early September	early September	early September
Swiss chard early September	Green pepper early September	Red pepper early September	Daikon radish early September	Purple kohlrabi early September	Brussels sprouts early September
Rhubarb early September	Hot pepper early September	Hot pepper early September	Hot pepper early September	Hot pepper early September	Hot pepper early September
Leeks early September	Zucchinetta squash early September	mid-September	mid-September	Butternut Squash mid-September	Butternut Squash mid-September
Green Pepper mid-September	late October	late October	late-January

Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) - Encore Program
Cuyahoga Community College's Encore Program is a lifelong learning program for individuals 55 and older. Students choose from a vast and diverse set of changing classes each session. Master Gardeners are responsible for presentation of the "Gardener's Gazette" courses, covering a variety of topics and answering questions, presently at the Tri-C Eastern, Tri-C Western and Tri-C Corporate College West campuses.

Theraputic Horticulture
Horticultural therapy is defined by the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA) as “a discipline that uses plants, gardening activities and the natural world as vehicles for professionally conducted programs in therapy and rehabilitation.” Utilizing both indoor and outdoor goal-oriented activities, participants in a variety of settings can achieve cognitive, social, psychological and physical benefits. Cuyahoga County Master Gardeners currently operate five programs under the supervision of registered Horticultural Therapists.
Click on the following site to jump to that site:

■Cleveland Clinic Children's Rehabilitation Hospital
■ Judson Park
■ A.M. McGregor Nursing Home
■ MetroHealth Medical Center

Cleveland Clinic Children's Rehabilitation Hospital
Two Wednesday mornings, all year long, children in the rehabilitation and dialysis units connect with nature through seeding, propagating, planning, planting and maintaining gardens and pots with themes chosen by them. Growing is done on a light cart and in a therapeutic courtyard garden.
(Click on pictures for larger image)

Planting an herb pot while on dialysis	Learning about pollinators in the garden	Harvesting beans from the garden	Our organic American farm	Master Gardener horticultural therapy volunteer	Master Gardener horticultural therapy volunteer

Judson Park, 2181 Ambleside Drive, Cleveland
A program is conducted on a Thursday each month in the Reinberger unit with a group of 6-8 older adults with memory impairment. The programs encompass a variety of sensory stimulating activities with plants and dried and fresh flowers.

A.M. McGregor Nursing Home
Every Tuesday and Thursday, all year long, various residents particiapte in horticulture activities, including flower arranging, seeding, propagating, planting, greenhouse maintanenance, nature experiences, and a garden club. The Horticultural Therapy department of this facility operates a greenhouse and numerous grow light carts, and an annual plant sale.
(Click on picture for larger image)

Pruning a plant in the greenhouse	Propagating stem cuttings of coleus on a porch	Filling pots with soil in the garden for propagating	Creating cards from pressed plant material

MetroHealth Medical Center
This program takes place once per month in the Mickey McGraw Patient Activity Center within the hospital. Participants, who are inpatients in Metro’s Rehabilitation Unit, are able to complete an indoor project that they can take with them at the end of the session.

Other Institutions
■ None presently

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