A GARDEN that won a silver award for borough garden designer Marc Buirski at the BBC Gardener’s World Spring Fair, has been dismantled and carefully replanted in the school grounds of a Wokingham school.
Youngsters at Earley St Peter’s C of E Primary School will be able to enjoy spending time in their new environment, which they have named The Enchanted Garden.
The garden’s trees were planted recently at a special ceremony, with every year group planting a tree which they will look after.
And at the weekend the school community installed more than 100 remaining plants into newly dug beds at a planting day.
Mr Buirski runs garden design business, 2 Forks and a Spade.
He said: “My daughter is in Year 1 in the school, and I realised they don’t have much access to outside space.
“Playgrounds can be intense and overwhelming places, so we wanted to create a quiet space for everyone.”
The new garden offers a peaceful place to find a moment of calm in the busy school day.
Designed to be low-maintenance and left to grow wild, its miniature woodland glade contains eight trees, shade loving plants.
It is furnished with benches to facilitate outdoor play and learning.
“We had glorious wall to wall sunshine for the community planting day,” continued Mr Buirski.
“The children also took part in rock painting, and were able to enjoy using the school’s swimming pool.
“I’m hoping the garden will really help pupils to engage with the outside world, help them learn well, and feel more able to chat, and will become a peaceful space for them to enjoy.”
Head of School Tom Smith, said: “This has been such a lovely community project.
“At Earley St Peter’s our vision is to build strong foundations, and this wonderful garden allows our pupils to flourish.”
“When Marc approached us about bringing his BBC show garden to the school he asked for somewhere to put it, and this seemed the ideal spot.
“It’s close to our reception classrooms, so it will especially enhance our youngest children’s lives, from the moment they start school.
“As a school, we just don’t have the capacity to be able to give all the hours necessary to make this work, but everyone has come together.
“We’ve had parents coming in at weekends, giving up their time to make beds and collect the plants from the show, local churches have dropped in to give a hand, and every child in the school has helped to dig.
“We know that not all families are blessed with their own outdoor space, but here at Earley St Peter’s, we’re keen to promote a love of the environment, and a connection with nature.”
Mr Buirski has agreed to set up a Community Gardening Club at the school, offering his company’s services for a year to help volunteers maintain the garden into the future.
He added: “We’ll do an autumn fundraiser to plant plant bulbs in the new garden, and we’ll teach people how to split and divide plants and collect seeds to spread them even further.
“It’s now fully planted, and as ready as any garden can be – now it just needs to grow.”
Support for the school’s garden has come from Bulldog Tools who provided all the tools for the job, and from Earley St Peter’s School Association which has fundraised and rallied the community.
For information, visit: www.2forksandaspade.co.uk or follow the designer on Facebook and Instagram, and www.bulldogtools.co.uk
For information about the school, visit: www.earley-st-peters.wokingham.sch.uk, and for the BBC event, visit: www.gardenersworld.com
