If you want to learn about gardening while enjoying fresh air and a community spirit, check out the gardening festivals that may be available to you locally.  We attended our first gardening festival as exhibitors this past weekend in the beautiful city of Fort Collins, Colorado.  The town has plenty of gardens to enjoy, and lots of folks interested in gardening.  There was a plethora of information to be gathered at the various booths and lots of gorgeous flowers and vegetable plants.  One thing that I particularly loved was how many people came out with their children, to help them learn how to garden, how important honey bees are to gardens, and best of all - about composting!  We had examples of things that we use in our composting on our table: grass clippings, coffee grounds, straw and alfalfa, dried leaves, drier lint, pet hair and vacuum bag contents.  Since we, like most composting folks, have plenty of greens (nitrogen) to contribute to the compost pile, but struggle to keep the mix of browns (carbons) high enough, we add the drier lint and animal hair.  Still usually not enough, we add BiOWiSH™ Compost Boost to keep the organisms activated and breaking down that compostable material.  This ensures that we have a new batch of compost to add to our garden every 4-6 weeks.  Our garden loves it!  And we love the produce that we are getting from our garden.  And thinking of the zucchini to come, I always keep an eye out for new ways to use zucchini.  Here is a recipe I found for Chilled Zucchini and Green-Bean Soup with Pesto Swirl:

(Start to finish: 1 hour.  Servings: 6)

Ingredients

2 TBSP extra-virgin olive oil

1 small sweet onion, chopped

1 lb zucchini, ends trimmed and thinly sliced

4 cups chicken broth (reduced sodium works great)

10 oz package frozen shelled edamame

1/2 lb green beans, ends trimmed

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

1/4 cup store bought basil pesto

1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream or plain greek yogurt(optional)

Directions

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, heat the oil.  Add the onion and zucchini and saute' until very soft, about 10 minutes.  Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Stir in edamame and green beans and simmer, uncovered, until the vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes.  Remove from the heat and cool for 15 minutes.

Transfer the soup, in batches if necessary, to a blender or food processor.  Puree', then season with salt and pepper.