THINKING OF PLANNING A SCHOOL GARDEN?
Cork County Muintir na Tire is delighted to partner with Cork County Council and Griffins Garden Centre Dripsey in the organisation of our Cork Schools Garden Competition.
Griffins Garden Centre have kindly agreed to advise schools on the planning of their garden.
Miriam from Griffins says 'The key to a successful school garden is in the planning.
No matter the size and style of your garden, you will need to answer
important questions about who will use the garden, where it will be located
in order to sustain the plants you plan to grow, and how it will be
maintained'
Where to start ?
This is a lot to do with
the space the garden is been created. The size of the garden, the soil type
and the location.
Location ideally your garden should be getting
5-6 hours of sunlight. If you garden is located in a dark corner, it will
make it much more difficult. Keep an eye on the direct sunlight for a few
days to get an idea of the garden. If
it is in a semi shaded area then you will be able to grow shade tolerant
plants and herbs. Ideally you will be hoping for a south facing garden.
The soil: Is it a hard or soft surface. When
planting a vegetable garden raised beds can be a lot easier and can be placed
on either hard or soft surfaces. Be creative creating a raised bed. There are great products on the
market. If you have budget restrictions you
can create raised beds with up cycling. Parents, Local men's sheds and other
organisations may be a great resource to do this part for you.
Access to water. It is a good idea to try a
position you school garden near to an outside tap for ease of watering. But
an alternative is to harvest rain water.
Small Garden.
Even if you have a small garden, you can have great success?
Firstly plan what you would like to achieve. Vegetable garden,
sensory garden, Bio diversity garden or elements of all.
Look at the whole area.
How much ground space has the garden. Is there a wall or fence that
can utilised or can one be erected. Vertical gardens are an alternative for
gardeners who don't have a lot of horizontal space or want to cover an un
attractive wall.
Vertical gardening (see below) can save a lot of
space. A few ideas for vertical
gardening is a Living wall, Hanging baskets (for vegetables and herbs) wall
hanging containers like pots, hayracks,
drainpipes or unusual containers like wellies, bottles or shoe
organisers. See images below for
inspiration.
Container Gardening: Most trees and Shrubs and
Vegetables can be grown in Pots and Containers. If you have a small Garden look
at dwarf varieties. For example a cornet apple tree is a miniature tree. An
old wheelbarrow can be a a lovely salad or herb container. (make sure it has
lots of drainage) Window boxes for Salads, watercress , herbs, rainbow chard
to name a few.
Climbing fruit and Veg up a wire fence : Peas, beans, cucumber,
tomatoes , Trained blueberries, rasberrerries, Grapes
Top tip in small Gardens. Make sure that
the containers and beds will get enough feed and water to produce a bounty
for the season.
Rockery gardens. Most herbs including
lavender are naturally rockery plants. They can grow in areas that other
plants wont thrive as long as the have sunshine. There is varieties of ground
cover thyme and rosemary that can be grown in between slabs and pavings. The
release a fabulous aroma when stepped on.
Too much traffic on these plant is detrimental to them.
Be creative, Use bold colours in a
small garden. Create a garden that is big on Colour
Happy gardening
From all the team at griffins of Dripsey
If you would like any advice please email Griffins of Dripsey at
info@griffinsgardencentre.ie
|
No comments:
Post a Comment