How to plan and plant a school garden: Two years of progress
Gulf muhly grass glows pink against the setting sun in the school garden.
Welcome to part two of “Growing a School Garden.” Click here to read part one.
It takes vision to look at a dead courtyard like this and envision a garden. However, teachers tend to be optimistic by nature. A few years ago, Gullett Elementary’s 4th-grade teachers imagined a garden of native Texas plants growing in this space. The 4th-grade year is devoted to learning about Texas—the different Native American tribes who lived here, early settlers, the natural landscape—and the students make several field trips to nature preserves to study native plants and ecosystems. The teachers thought, Wouldn’t it be great to have some of those same plants growing right outside the classrooms? And, while we’re dreaming, what if students could plant and harvest some Native American crops?
This is where volunteer gardeners (and willing non-gardeners) come in. In the fall of 2005, a fellow parent and I headed up a planning committee. Another parent who is a landscape architect agreed to donate a garden plan and provide a rough estimate of what it would cost if a professional crew were hired to install it.
His garden design inspired everyone at the school and helped win the approval of the administration and PTA, which provided initial seed money. But the professional estimate came to a whopping $42,000. That just wasn’t going to happen.
So the planning committee worked through the estimate, line by line, removing all labor costs (we’d rely on volunteers) and replacing high-ticket items with similar but lower-priced items. Since labor costs are always the budget-breaker, this slashed the estimate to about $14,000. A subsequent fundraising campaign among parents and the community and the award of several grants netted more than $10,000, and generous donations from suppliers covered the rest.
On groundbreaking day, six months after planning began, dozens of volunteers from the school and the community showed up to help. Armed with a rented Bobcat and lots of wheelbarrows and shovels, we faced these mountains of soil, gravel, river rock, and mulch.
A comparison of before-and-after shots will show you what was accomplished better than a chronological series.
BEFORE: Groundbreaking day, April 2006. Spray-painted lines mark where paths and bermed planting beds will go. The large Bradford pear in the center of the courtyard, along with a few crepe myrtles and two large shrubs are the only non-natives allowed to remain in what will soon become a native-plant garden.
AFTER: A year and a half later, the garden looks like this. For orientation, look for the trough-style concrete water fountain in each photo.
BEFORE: This barren stretch lay in the shadow of an old, dying Arizona ash. Because it was declining and dropping large limbs, the school district removed it for us.
AFTER: The teachers saved the stump and made stools out of the trunk for seating in an outdoor classroom. This has become a favorite spot for students.
BEFORE: Looking the other way, you see three trees: a Texas redbud (native), the non-native Bradford pear that we kept for shade, and the Arizona ash that would be turned into the outdoor classroom area. The blue circle on the ground indicates the position of a large stock-tank container pond. The other lines show where paths and bermed beds will go.
DURING: On groundbreaking day, the Bobcat brought in loads of dirt and gravel from the big piles, and volunteers shoveled the soil into berms and laid decomposed-granite paths.
DURING: The first workday was a full-day affair. Now you see that the berms and paths are in place, and volunteers are wheeling in loads of river rock for a dry streambed behind the central berm.
AFTER: At the end of the day, the soft light of late afternoon shows just how much has been accomplished.
AFTER: A year and a half later, in late September, this is how the garden looks. Sorry about the heavy shadows in this photo, but you get the idea.
AFTER: And looking the other way down that path, you see the container pond, which was constructed by and donated to the garden by the 5th-grade class of 2006. Surrounding it is a raised bed constructed and donated by a Boy Scout as his Eagle Scout project. Eagle Scout candidates—and other public-service groups—are great sources of labor for schools that want to put in gardens. It’s win-win for the Scout and the school. Just break your project down into manageable chunks, and put out the word that you have a great project for someone who wants community-service work.
BEFORE: After a summer of rest, in November 2006 volunteers planted the first half of the garden, filling the berms with shade-loving native plants and, on this sunny berm, with Salvia leucantha, Lindheimer muhly grass, Gulf muhly grass, and ‘Homestead’ verbena. Students were encouraged to help on planting day, and dozens showed up to dig holes and unpot hundreds of plants and carefully place them in the soil.
AFTER: This is how the sunny berm looked last weekend, after a wonderful summer of rain and two mornings of weeding.
‘Homestead’ verbena
The dry streambed. The berm in the foreground is swathed in frogfruit and topped with several Texas dwarf palmettos. In the background, Barbados cherry, chile pequin, Mexican buckeye, and zexmenia enjoy the part-shade location.
The next phase of the garden is already underway. In the sunny end of the courtyard, raised beds will be used by the students to grow Native American crops and native herbs.
Here is another look. The beds have just been filled up with soil. In the background, a stone circle marks the spot where a canvas tepee will be erected.
Gaillardia ‘Goblin’, a holdout from summer.
Mr. Martin, longtime volunteer gardener at Gullett, watches over the new garden.
I hope this post will provide inspiration and practical how-to information for anyone who may be thinking of starting a school garden. While this was a large project, it was quite do-able with a team of committed volunteers and the support of the school and PTA. Smaller gardens that could be built in a weekend or two can be just as beneficial in teaching kids about gardening and the natural world that lies outside those classroom windows. Let’s get them digging!
All material © 2006-2012 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
That’s quite a garden. You all did a great job! Started with a plan, planted lots of variety, provided places for the kids to sit and enjoy. Lots of work, but seems quite worth it.
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
It was a lot of work, Carol, but definitely worth it so the kids can get out there to explore and investigate. —Pam
Fabulous. Fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. Hopefully, parents spend some time in this garden on visits too, and get inspired about planting Texas natives at home.
I do see parents in the garden every day. Soon the students will be putting up plant labels, which will help everyone learn more about the native plants here. —Pam
That’s an enormous project, Pam – it’s amazing what hard work, talent, pulling together, and the help of some grant-savvy people can accomplish! The children will have a wonderful garden.
I had to chuckle when you told us how to pronounce the school’s name. Having a special pronunciation is so typically ‘Austin’, like Burnet and Manor, and reminded me of Hyacinth Bucket on PBS. Gull-ett’ does have a less crudely anatomical sound than Gull’ett.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
It amazes me too to see how it’s come to fruition. And you’re right that we have more than our share of unusually pronounced names around here. Don’t forget Buda, Manchaca, and Guadalupe. —Pam
Wow, this is so cool! And what a peaceful view from inside the school, no matter the weather.
Thanks, Lori. Yes, the school has a lot of windows overlooking this courtyard, so the views are a bonus. —Pam
What a wonderfull garden! I only wish I had such a garden in my school when I was a child!
Oh, me too, Gintoino. But in those days (or my day, at least), children ran around all summer in the woods and didn’t stay inside. So maybe we didn’t need gardens quite as much as children do today. —Pam
Pam: That is a great project! Kids love parks and dirt! An outside learning classroom is a great place for kids to connect with Mother Earth!
I think so too. Every school should have one. —Pam
That is absolutely glorious! The complete transformation of the space is what is so inspiring about gardening–from burnt-out lawn to learning place and magnet for nature. That is seriously hard work in just planning, not to mention the fund raising and back breaking.
Congrats to all involved!
Thanks, Lee. It was indeed a big job with lots of planning and hard labor. But many hands truly made light(er) work of it, and the response from the community—and the kids—has been rewarding. —Pam
Nifty! And how great of you to help donate your time and talent to such a worthwhile project. I love the design. The flowers turned out very nice. I love the stump circle and the stock-tank pond. Think of all the children you’ve inspired to become gardeners. Well done! 🙂
Thanks, Dawn. I do hope the garden inspires children in some way, whether to be a gardener or just to appreciate nature. —Pam
Wow. That is such an impressive and inspiring project on all levels. The garden is just beautiful and peaceful – and what a labor of love. Kudos to all the parents and supporters who helped make it all a reality.
Hear, hear! Kudos to everyone involved, whether donating money or muscle, or just cheering on the project. It was certainly a group effort, and a labor of love. —Pam
A lovely project well done! Truly a case of you reap what you sow.
Thanks. I know that you’re involved with the Becker Elementary School garden. It takes a village and all that, and you’ve sowed some good seeds too. —Pam
Well done. Are there any aboriginal people consulting on the Native American crops garden?
Thanks, Matthew. No, we have no Native American garden consultants, though that would be great. However, the teachers have collected articles about native crop gardens, and their curriculum explores Native American agriculture. As this section of the garden gets underway, I will be sure to post a follow-up about it. —Pam
Wow, I’m just stunned by those pictures. What a fabulous project and how lucky that school is to have the wonderful involvement of the volunteers.
Thanks, Bonnie. Yes, the school enjoys strong volunteer involvement, as well as a committed and creative faculty. —Pam
i don’t understand how y’all made the berms. “the Bobcat brought in loads of dirt and gravel from the big piles, and volunteers shoveled the soil into berms..” did you make the berms out of gravel and then just shovel a thick layer of dirt on top of the gravel? if so, does much soil filter down into the gravel? and what kept soil from running off the berm when it rained before roots grew to hold the soil in place? i really want to try this. (i’m new to gardening, but better late than NEVER.) i LOVE your blog!
Hi, Cannie. What I meant was that the Bobcat brought in the soil, and the volunteers shoveled the soil into berms. Decomposed granite was used to make paths, and river rock was laid for a dry stream. To keep the bermed soil from washing away, we mulched it with Texas native mulch, which knits together nicely. Good luck with your garden, and have fun. It’s never too late to start! —Pam
What a great project. I was a Third Grade Student at Gullett in ’75-’76. They put in the patio that year and buried a time capsule under it. Any record of where the time capsule was buried? Did you run into it while you were digging? I believe the plan was to dig it up after 50 years, or 2026.
I have heard about that time capsule but didn’t know where it was. Nope, we didn’t run across it during this project, and that patio is still there, so I suppose the capsule is too. I think the school buried another one in recent years too. —Pam