Sunny Glen Garden

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Sunny Glen Garden

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Growing into life's possibilities! Turning urban lawns into edible forest gardens & wildlife habitat Come join in the fun!

Sunny Glen Wellness wants to show others that growing your own food in your backyard can be fun, simple and cheap to start, easy to maintain and grow, and produce healthy fresh food almost all year round. You don't need to know all of this yourself, as this can be done through the sharing of ideas, information, equipment and resources, with neighbors and friends, where everyone is included and can enjoy it together. Sunny Glen Wellness has a food garden and certified wildlife habitat in the North Linden community of Columbus, Ohio. Dianne and Stephen are working towards a self-sustainable and self-sufficient veggie and fruit food production in their urban backYarden instead of growing grass, using natural methods that require minimal care, produce a lot of food, and contribute to health and wellbeing of people, creatures, and the planet. In about 1000 sq ft of space, the Sunny Glen Garden has a baby perennial food forest consisting of chestnut, (fruit trees to come), hazelnut bushes, and a variety of currant, gooseberry & raspberries, an annual veggie garden, and flowers for the pollinators. Seeds are saved and traded in various seed saver groups in the neighborhood. They have a miniature sprouting operation with heat mats & grow lights where all the sprouties were started for the garden and a low cold frame with a temperature controlled wax cylinder opener to extend the growing season. A donated barrel composter, newspaper & recycled cardboard, leaf mulching & cured horse manure adds nutrients in the soil, and a drainable pond to collect rain water assists with irrigation.

09/26/2026

A fun way to raise funds for First Unitarian Universalist of Columbus auction event with a tour of the Sunny Glen Garden last weekend. Amazingly, after what seems like weeks of rain, the only couple of hours of sunshine and blue sky opened up for us, just in time for the tour, lol.

Enjoyed mini lemon balm & rose petal cupcakes and blueberry ginger tea I made with ingredients from the garden while finding out more about:

Community Outreach, Inclusivity, Grants & Research Projects:

- CCC for PPP - the Connecting Community Corridor for People, Pollinators and the Planet. A hyperloca project of 50+ donated native plant gardens in Linden, supported by First Unitarian Universalist of Columbus share the plate donations.
- Balconies for Biodiversity: Native Plant Containers for Porches, Patios, and Pollinators - to include renters and apartment dwellers in native plant and vegetable garden programs with a Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District Beyond Community Backyards grant
- LInden Bee Tree Trail Update - to encourage folks to head outside and and get to know about the top 40 Ohio Native trees for bees in our neighborhood, and tree plantings, sponsored by Franklin Park Conservatory & Franklin County Community Garden Grant
- Art Mural for the Endangered Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee - painted by local Linden artist Kenia LaMarr, sponsored by the Endangered Species Coalition and the Center for Biological Diversity
- Nature's Grace Storybook Trail onthe The Urban Farm Church site to bring equity to Linden for trails that feature a wildlife garden, a weekly CSA, meditation garden, fruit orchard, sponsored by the of Columbus Beautification grant
- To Dig or Not to Dig - a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), North Central Region SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education) grant trial vegetable garden beds showing the difference between regenerative agricultural practices vs current conventional tilled methods for growing vegetables.

Permaculture, Food Forests, & Native Biodiversity:

- Sustainable, Regenerative, Zero Waste, Plastic Reduction Practices
- the use of swales and mulches to eliminate flooding of the yard
- why I've chosen perennial plants (returns each year on its own) for the food forest instead of an annual vegetable garden that requires yearly planting
- creating tree guilds (like the 3 Sisters Garden of corn, squash, and beans, creating an enhanced collaboration for optimal growing and healthy ecosystems, but for trees)
- all organic methods (no pesticides, no herbicides, no fungicides, etc) for optimal soil health and the tiny organisms that live in it
- mushroom log "garden bed" from tree branches
- herb spiral using hugelkultur (creating microclimates to grow more in a small space with a self-sustaining system over a bed of branches, leaves, etc)
- demo prairie wildflower garden, mini rain garden, woodland garden for increasing biodiversity for resilience
- examples of creative gifts made from the garden, inspired by nature and reducing plastic use
- sustainable, free materials, for creating garden beds

Thanks everyone for joining in!

09/25/2026

ADVANTAGES OF COVER CROPS and NO DIG (non-tilled) beds - Even with 7.74 inches of rain so far in September (5.21 inches above the average rainfall the past 30 years), or 141% above average rainfall), and our hot and cold temperature dips, you can see the advantages of the No Dig (compost) bed on the left vs the Tilled bed on the right of our North Central Region SARE's grant beds with the fall cover crop mix germination from Walnut Creek Seeds, as these beds were cleared and planted at the same time. You'll see how in the No Dig compost beds (left), the cover crop has already established itself well and is uniform, whereas in the Tilled beds, they are barely germinating yet, and the excess rain has moved and pooled the seeds in low lying sections, resulting in patches and empty spaces.

The same cover crop applied to both beds, is a mix of cowpea, mung bean, oilseed radish, Ethiopian cabbage, pearl millet, and oats and is best planted mid-August to mid-September, so we terminated our pepper plants, cleaned up the beds, and Taylor broadcasted our cover crop seeds by hand last week.

Cover crops are a great way to bring back the balance and health of the soil over the fall and winter months, that have been depleted of nutrients from the spring and summer potato and pepper crops we grew and harvested for ourselves, and can reduce or eliminate the need to purchase fertilizers in the spring.

I like thinking of cover crops as planting food and harvests for the soil microbes instead. It puts a protective blanket of plants over the garden, saving me from the labor / time of having to w**d. The soil is never left naked where it is exposed to rains or winds that can wash away the topsoil and nutrients, which helps in situations like we're having this fall with flooding and erosion of the land.

As cover crop plants grow through the autumn months, the diverse root systems grow deep down to break apart hard topsoil and reduces compaction, which can improve air and water movement, further improving soil health and resilience.

I like this particular cover crop mix as it is easy to apply, and will die back with a winter freeze (no management needed), returning a natural layer of surface residue nutrients to feed the soil microbes and build soil health which are vital to the health and resiliency of whatever grows in it.

This is a much healthier way for us and the planet, to improve soil health vs our conventional tilled, GMO mono-crops, application of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, farming practices, that kill soil microbes and depletes soil health, which is turning our soils into deserts.

Can you share your experience of cover crops? Species, when you planted, observations, challenges? Cover crops are new for me, but I'm seeing the many advantages of them.

08/31/2026

Can you assist me with this bumblebee ID? These are not great photos but are all I was able to get - I'm leaning towards Bombus auricomus (Black & Gold Bumblebee) instead of Bombus pensylvanicus (American Bumblebee) as it looks like it has a tiny tuft of yellow on the vertex of the head, a black thorax bordered with some yellow on the bottom, and T1 partial yellow looks like it decreases centrally. On Blue Sage, Salvia azurea...Can you let me know?

08/28/2026

How could your storm debris beome a resource where you live? The HUGE amount of debris that came down from the trees with the high winds and severe weather storm on Aug 11th has become an extremely valuable resource and is being intergrated in the Sunny Glen Garden in several ways:

- Lining pathways to provide habitat for wildlife
- Firewood for producing ash for a new organic soil health nutrient bio fertilizer / fermentation experiment I want to try
- Edging for raised garden beds
- Branches as trellises to prop up the tomato plants that got plastered to the ground in the storm
- Smaller branches as mulch around the hazel bushes (feeds soil, blocks w**ds, mimics forest where they grow)
- Broken twigs as substrate for a new blue oyster mushroom bed with wood chips
- The rest I plan to use for the filler layers for new hugelkultur garden bed...

Saves on city resources too so they don't have to haul it all away when it can be a valuable resource right here in the yard! How could your storm debris beome a resource where you live?

08/27/2026

Even though this hugelkultur herb spiral gets only 3 hours of sunlight in this urban food forest, it has done fairly well - maybe the soil health practices help. The herb spiral was filled with carbon-heavy wood core material from my yard last year - layered with spent mushroom logs on the bottom, branches, twigs, leaves, soil, and wood chips on top.

The wood core materials act like a sponge, helping to keep my yard from flooding after all this excess rain, and storing it where it can slowly be released upward for plants during dry spells, like we had last summer with the drought. The mediterranean herbs that like it dryer, are on top, with herbs closer to the bottom that like it moist, when the rainwater flows down the spiral slope.

Except for the initial planting of the annual herbs in the spring where i watered it twice, nature and the hugelkultur self-sustaining system have taken care of the rest of my watering this year!

And I was surprised, as I think the brick, as well as providing seating areas for folks on tours, and a central place to put my tools so I don't lose them in the yard, lol, may absorb sunlight in the winter, radiating warmth and buffering the rosemary and lavender from the cold as they survived the winter.

I planted the strawberries as a ground cover to help retain moisture around the herb plants, but they really liked the hugelkultur spiral, blooming throughout the spring and summer, and almost took over the herbs!

Bonus - with the wood materials layered in, I won't have to add any additional nutrients or fertilizers - the wood materials breakdown over time, with the mycelium (maybe I'll get mushroom next year), feeding the microbes that will make the nutrients available for the plants, as I think the plants look pretty healthy in general.

I have (bottom to top): blueberries in the container, lemongrass, red form of common violet, peppermint, tulsi, pineapple sage, Thai basil, nasturtium, red basil, thyme, sage, lavender, rosemary, and strawberries!

Anyone else have experience with hugelkultur in herb spirals or garden beds?

08/21/2026

The teachers and staff at the Como Elementary School, located in our Linden neighborhood, are doing amazing things to support their students and parents by inviting local organizations and providing resources, as their school is one of 4 schools slated to close during the 2027-2028 school year as part of a broader plan by City Columbus Schools to slice $50 million from its budget. Fun time was had at their Ice Cream Social, sharing activities that can be made from the garden that are unique and eco-friendly. Many thanks to Myrlyn for facilitating the origami paper pot and seed envelop folding with the kids!

08/18/2026

How did your gardens fair after our severe weather with thunderstorms and high winds last week, and the deluge of rain this past week? Here is a comparison update on North Central Region SARE's To Dig or Not to Dig research at the Sunny Glen Garden site comparing the No Dig bed vs the Conventional Tilled Bed today! You be the judge!

08/15/2026

What would you do with this Zuke Monster? Many wonderful garden goodies from Gale at Natives In Harmony and the The Urban Farm Church weekly CSA!

08/14/2026

Honored to be able to host the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio for a tour of the Sunny Glen Garden this past weekend!

Aspects of modern day permaculture and regenerative agriculture that we use rarely acknowledge that these methods are deeply rooted and inspired by Indigenous land stewardship, connection to the land, cultural and spiritual traditions, ecological wisdom, that are all encompassing and managed in a delicate balance.

It was fun to share what has been implemented here with the food forest in an urban setting. I am grateful to have spent some time with them and came away with new perspectives and considerations to steward the little piece of land on which I live!

Please check out the wonderful work that Ty Smith and Masami Smith are facilitating at NAICCO.com and consider supporting their campaign!

Address

Columbus, OH

Opening Hours

12pm - 3pm

Telephone

+14046036284

Website

http://www.sunnyglengarden.com/, https://linktr.ee/sunnyglengarden

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