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GARDEN DESIGN
Selecting
a garden theme or planting style
To this point,
your students have selected a garden spot, measured and calculated the
area available for plantings, and plotted the area on graph paper.
Before you can
add new plants and structures into your garden design, you need to select
a theme or planting style. When the DOT
plants a roadside, revegetates an area disturbed by transportation
development, or reestablishes wetlands or other habitat areas, it must
first determine the most suitable planting style for the area. Several factors
play a part in the decision, including: soil type, drainage, exposure and
hours of sunlight, access for continued maintenance, terrain and contours
of the land, native vegetation common to the area, wildlife that must be
supported, and aesthetic appeal. One example of how this process works involved the
relocation of U.S. 30 west of Ames. When the highway was moved from its
original location to its present one, the DOT had to remove dirt from a
“borrow” site to construct the new road bed.
This created a large depression or hole in the ground’s surface. The DOT decided to turn the borrow site into a pond and
wildlife habitat, which eventually was identified as suitable for the rare and endangered Trumpeter Swan. Once
this theme was decided, it was necessary to select the appropriate
plantings to support an aquatic life habitat. Allowing students to establish a theme or style for the
garden area is a great way to take advantage of their creative-thinking
skills and artistic abilities. Theme gardens also provide an opportunity
to make interdisciplinary connections.
For instance, your garden can be used to express themes related to
art (color and plant sculptures), history (Iowa, U.S. or period) or social
studies (species planted by Iowa’s early pioneers, colors of the U.S.
flag). Selecting a theme/style that will adapt well to your
designated garden space is strongly recommended. For instance, if your garden spot is located in a lowland
area, subject to frequent flooding, establishing a water or wetlands
garden style might work best. On the other hand, if the soil in your garden area is
undesirable for growing the types of plants you prefer, try constructing a
raised bed garden by using railroad ties or staked wooded planks/boards
and filling them with a mix of suitable soil. When testing the pros and cons of all ideas, think of how
things will look in five years, 10 years, or in 25 years, and not just the
present. Consider, too, how your landscaping needs may change over time.
After all, landscaping is an evolutionary art form that's never really
finished. Below is a list of garden themes or designs for your class
to research and consider for your plant space. Raised planting beds garden
–
No more digging to prepare your beds. Water garden -
No more rakes and hoes!
Just sit and watch the ducks and lilies float by. Shade garden – Plan now and this
summer you’ll have it made in the shade! Rock garden - Get a “rocky” start to your gardening. Hummingbird garden
– Hear the “humm” in your garden area. Native prairie garden
–
Have fun reestablishing a native Iowa prairie in your schoolyard. Wetland plants garden
– Don’t let a soggy site keep you from planting. All-season continuous color garden
– Dress your garden in blooms all Colonial gardens –
Old Salem garden
structures such as lashed poles, hoops and sticks give plants that vine
traditional, charming support. Research
gardens from 18th century Old Salem, Mass. Container garden – Create a beautiful and flexible garden with plants in containers. Cutting garden for all seasons
–
Plant a cutting garden that never looks plundered. Gothic gardens – Plant an enchanting
site that includes fascinating garden designs like a bats garden. An heirloom garden
–
Research and select plants traditional to early homesteaders in your
state. An oriental garden
–
Create a garden that features water, bonsi and other traditional Asian
garden designs. Wildflower meadow
–
Go absolutely WILD with wildflowers! Bird garden - Make room for your new garden
guests! Fragrance garden -
Lilac breezes or lemon
winds – indulge in a garden of scents! Herb garden - Dried, cooked or brewed,
there's nothing like fresh garden herbs. Moonlight gardens
-
The setting sun is your invitation to a fairy-tale world. Radiant red garden
-
Set your yard ablaze with a garden full of fiery red blooms! Naturalized garden - A garden planted randomly, without a pattern. The idea is
to create the effect that the plants grew in that space without human
help, such as you would find wild flowers growing. Storybook garden –
This theme is ideal for K-2 grade students. Choose a fun and interesting
story that you like to use every year in your curriculum. Then design a
garden that incorporates the main ideas of the story and create classroom
projects that relate to the theme of the story or book. Use the concept of
the book as your inspiration for the physical details of the garden, as
well as for activities in the classroom. For example, if you have a
"Three Little Pigs" garden, you could have three areas -- one
for simple musical instruments to be played, one to grow flowers in, and
one to build in with wooden blocks or bricks. You could make signs to
designate the three pigs' areas, create doorways to each area, and make up
"wolf tracks" to link the three areas. Then you could rotate the
three areas as you rotate crops, leaving two areas fallow (but retaining
the music and building use) with mulch on them in the off years. Iowa history garden –
This style is great for student’s learning Iowa history in grades 3-5.
Review your curriculum, if you will be teaching a big unit on Iowa,
choose a garden theme that focuses on historic crops or current
agricultural products of the state, or plant your garden in the shape of
Iowa, perhaps dividing it by the county divisions. Wildlife habitat –
With this style, students identify desirable types of wildlife, then
provide the four essential components of a healthy habitat (food, shelter,
a place to raise young, and water) for the desired species. Examples of
habitat theme gardens are butterfly gardens, bird gardens, and school pond
or wetland habitat gardens. You could also create "Prairie,"
"Old Field," "Woodland" or other ecotype habitats.
For how-to help in developing habitat areas, try the National Wildlife
Federation Schoolyard Habitat program, 4-H curriculum materials, local
forestry commissions, or the Audubon Society. Other garden themes -
Persian Carpet Garden,
Teacher's Name Garden, With so many fun ideas, selecting a single theme can be
difficult. As an alternative,
why not divide your garden space into sections and use a different theme
in each. Budgeting and Designing
the Garden After selecting a theme(s) for your garden, it’s time to
design the plot. This
involves selection of the appropriate plants and structures (optional),
and plotting them onto graph paper. The key concept in this step is to
become familiar with layout design and working with a budget. This step can be accomplished in one of several ways,
depending on the amount of time you have available and the age of your
students. Limited time/younger students Have a landscape architect or designer,
local nursery professional or master gardener select the
appropriate plants and provide you with a design that is consistent with
your theme, fits the plot, and is within budget.
There are a number of educational resources available that may be
able to assist you for little or no cost. Try contacting your local
nursery, garden center, university/college, or county conservation or
extension service. Moderate
amount of time/elementary and middle school students
The students at
Edward’s Elementary used this approach while assisting the DOT with the
development of this curriculum. It
involved providing students with a pre-selected list/table of optional
plants suitable for the garden area and consistent with the theme. The students at Edward’s used generic plant sizes and
prices when producing their designs. The list of plants was prepared in
advance by a landscape architect. For
example: A ground cover plant with a 1-foot diameter equaled 1 graph
box an
A flower with a 2-foot diameter equaled 4 graph boxes and
cost $5.
A shrub with a 3-foot diameter equaled 9 graph boxes and
cost $12. Using generic information can provide students with
adequate instruction on the principles of garden design.
To enhance the learning process, consider providing students with
additional information about each plant, including: annual/perennial,
color, type (tree, bush, wildflower, native grass, etc.), ground cover
width/circumference, special needs, and actual cost. Establishing standardized plant diameters (1,
4 or 9 graph
boxes), consistent with the boxes in your graph paper is recommended.
Meandering from even measurements for plant diameters will make
plotting them difficult. The students at
Edwards were given a budgeted amount of $500 to work with and a plant listing.
They were then instructed to create a garden that carried out the
theme, and to follow these basic rules:
The students at Edwards used their imaginations to create marvelous, as well as some outrageous designs. They were also challenged to use the left side of their brains to stay within their budgets.
The drawing above represents only existing plants. Any
overlapping drip lines have occurred naturally during the maturity of the
plants. Students should create a drawing similar to this that uses
plantings of their own design. Appearance of your garden design does not
have to be identical to this drawing. It is only an example to provide
reference. Additional
time/middle and high school students
The complexity of the garden design can be increased with
older students. Having
students conduct plant research, structural design, soil evaluation and
testing, and research nationally/internationally acclaimed gardens
are options that would make this activity more rewarding.
Having students visit local gardens or renowned gardens in the
state for inspiration is another way to expand the curriculum. Sample plant design
28 Ways to Stretch Your Landscape Dollar A landscape can look like a million bucks without costing
that much. Follow these tips on how to plan, shop, swap, forage, recycle,
and do-it-yourself.
Final Design Arriving at a final drawing that will actually be used by
students in the planting of their
classroom garden can be accomplished in several ways. One option would
be to You might want to hold a contest for the best design based
on creativity, how well they sketched the drawing and how close they came
to hitting the budget. You could also develop a collaborative classroom design
that pulls together a combination of aspects of the student’s drawings. Any number of ideas would work, weighing heavily on the
instructor’s discretion.
Last updated: May 14, 2002
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season long.
Native Plant Butterfly Garden, Dinosaur Garden, Alphabet Garden, Sunflower
House Garden, Sundial Garden, Herb/Scent Garden, Fiber Garden, Prairie
Garden, Native American Garden, Peter Rabbit's Garden, Barnyard Garden,
Teeny Tiny Garden, Companion Garden, Literature Garden, Root Garden, Giant
Garden, and Pizza Garden
d
cost $1. 
contact a local landscape architect or designer to draw up a final
layout to use that incorporates some of the students’ ideas.
