Monday, August 31, 2009

Elementary School Garden - Advise Wanted

A friend has asked for my advise regarding installing a garden. This will be a children's garden at an elementary school. Have any of you done anything like this? If so, any advise?

7 comments:

  1. No, but I really love the idea. I guess I would start with something easy to care for and forgiving in nature for them to start with. I think every school should have a garden that the kids can help tend. Science at work! I might suggest that to my kids' schools.

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  2. There are preparations on the way for such a garden in front of our elementary school. They plan to grow some vegetables for a school cafeteria. I think it'll be good to start with some easy fall crops. I don't know your zone, but there should be some crops for the fall and then, some crops that can overwinter. But first things first -there should be a group of people, teachers and/or parents leading this project. Good luck!

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  3. I'd check out the link

    http://www.schoolgardenwizard.org

    The site was created by the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Chicago
    Botanic Garden for people who want to develop gardens for children.

    Also, here are some tips I copied from an MSU newsletter (which has a reknown children's garden):

    - Foremost goal is encouraging outdoor physical activity and interest in eating vegetables
    and fruits.
    - Use plants you can feel, smell, taste, touch and hear
    - Use edible flowers such as pansies, nasturtiums, borages, etc.
    - Use plants that will have winter interest such as grasses, shrubs, and trees with colored
    or exfoliating bark, evergreens, and plants with seed pods that will persist into winter

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  4. P.S. My consulting fee is one string grocery bag--HA!!!! ;-)

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  5. Good luck with all your grand advice. I say have lots of places to sit, birdhouse, water feature, frog house, fairy home---ok, I got carried away.

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  6. The first seeds my mother gave me were Zinnias. I think I was 5 or 6 years old. A few survived and grew and bloomed... needless to say, I was hooked on plants after that. I thought they were beautiful!

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  7. I do a garden for my children's preschool. You can see a bunch of postings about it on my blog, but I would also be happy to answer any questions. just email me at bonnielaurie at austin.rr.com

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