Bean Books

The Botanical Garden is closed, but they are staying as active as they can. Book group meetings and classes are held on Zoom now.

Also, the garden's education director made up activity packages for families -- a bean sprouting kit of materials and instructions to be handed out at food pick up sites.

I think this is fabulous. It's always a treat to see the wonder in a child's eyes when the bean seed they put in the dirt starts growing.

Mi libro del frijol -- my bean book -- lets them record what's going on and learn a bit about botany along the way.

I took these pictures from the garden's web site. I've mentioned before that the garden is relatively new, less than a decade in existence, and quite small, with blueprints for expansion plans.

But I've been so impressed with what this small organization has created so far, and with their community programs, classes, tours and road trips. And their great children's hands-on activities. Unlike the botanical gardens I've visited in the east, created eons ago with mature plantings and often built on old estates, Santa Fe's garden is fresh, raw, and full of energy.

I'm sure gardens all over the US are doing creative outreach during this time of no school and stay at home orders. But something just seems so appropriate that here in Santa Fe there are beans to plant and books to write about them being delivered to families.