I have got the chance to design/plan a garden for the primary school that I work at.
Does anyone have any experience of this that they could share? Or knowledge of any school with an interesting garden that I could possibly visit? (Midlands based)
It would be particularly helpful if I could be alerted to any pitfalls.
I'm hoping to include a pond (somehow made safe), plenty of decorative planting focussed on Spring/Autumn interest and an area devoted to fruit trees possibly including a large pergola with grape vines (shade!)
I'm hoping to do it with volunteer labour using recycled materials as much as possible - on the cheap, hopefully.
I need to plan carefully and consider the overall planning and usage of the total play area but also feel that things will need to start happening fairly soon.
I would certainly include a greenhouse preferably glazed with polycarbonate sheets (B&Q do one) I have experience with gardening with primary school children and the delight of raising their own plants for the garden (and spares for the school galas) outdoes anything else. It also gives you space under cover for gardening activities. If you have an active PTA or good contacts with local councillors you may find raising the money easier than you think. Our local ASDA supplied the labour to erect ours. The pupils organised a watering rota. Summer holidays is the most difficult period to cover but the school caretaker helped. Your local freecycle group may help with pots and equipment. Good luck!
I'd love to have a greenhouse but am conscious of the work involved in organising watering. It would be mainly used to raise small plants for children to take home for their own garden so summer holidays might not be much of a a problem. We work in a 60s designed school with no windows (rooflights only) so not even a windowsill to harbour a spindly bean seedling!
I am also worried about the prospect of vandalism and would welcome suggestions to combat this.
Don't forget to include some cherry trees. The cherries will be ripening just near the end of the summer term, when kids like to have something to take their minds off exams.
