In Redondo Beach, “Gardens of the World” is charming and educational
by Janel Alicia Bagby
What is a children’s garden?
A children’s garden is a magical place where senses are awakened, imaginations are engaged, and natural curiosities are followed. It lends itself to scientific discovery, environmental awareness, respect and global thinking. It is a life-giving reflection of light, color and energy with a soothing element conducive to peace and healing. It is the timeless beauty of nature that has prompted artists to paint and poets to write that inspires children to find their own creativity within.
On October 1, Washington Elementary and Adams Middle School unveiled Gardens of the World. Before “traveling” to the eight gardens – French Impressionist, English Cottage, Butterfly, Coastal, Desert, Rain Forest, Zen and Alpine – children at Washington received a passport and a 15-minute, museum-quality tour by docents stationed at every garden.
In the beginning…
It started out as a conversation, a banter of ideas, by the school garden, about an empty, 1,740 square-foot octagonal sandbox. Nearly one year ago, ideas took hold, were put into sketches, cost estimations and grant writing. After months of hopeful anticipation, a $5,000 Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant was awarded. Eagle Scout Marco Catallo, of Troop 191, raised an additional $1,025 through restaurant fundraisers and donations.
The planning and implementation of phases one and two lasted four months. There were time constraints, delays, personal sacrifice and stress to move through for the good of the project, only to rebuild days prior to the grand opening when temperatures reached a record113 degrees, resulting in plant loss and damage.
The Gardens of the World, shared by Washington Elementary and Adams Middle School, provides a model outdoor classroom, taking the garden experience and educational opportunities to a new level. It expands upon the Beach Cities Health District’s LiveWell Kids school garden, comprised of 24 raised boxes growing organic fruits and vegetables and a fruit tree orchard planted by Eagle Scout Jacob Spears and Troop 788, both of which promote a healthy diet and aid in the prevention of childhood obesity.
Passport to Eden
The French Impressionist Garden serves as the entrance to Gardens of the World. Children pass through an arbor door, and upon Lompoc steppingstones walk down a calming, scented path of lavender. With hints of blue, the muted colors are like dabbing brush strokes, reminiscent of the French Impressionist painter, Monet. In the spring, we look forward to cascades of wisteria.
The English Cottage Garden conveys a quaint cottage charm, as children are asked to join a velveteen bunny and a wooly lamb for a tea party. Nestled within a formal boxwood perimeter, among roses, hydrangea, gardenia and English Ivy, is a heart, shaped by green stones. A café table is in the center, set with tea cups and lace, cakes, fruit tarts and berries for its guests. Upon leaving, the angel’s harp is strummed and a lullaby played with a touch to the bunny’s paw.
There’s an enchanting fairytale quality to the Butterfly Garden with its jeweled mosaic steppingstone path on crushed basalt that leads to a butterfly bench and chair. It is amidst butterfly bushes, salvia, plumbago, penstamon, lantana and delphinium – plants that attract the delicate dance of butterflies and hummingbirds. It is here that children can sit in the luminous wings of a butterfly, close their eyes, and have wings to fly. I think this must have special meaning for children in wheelchairs or on crutches.
Familiar to California children, as the plants are mostly native to the area, the Coastal Garden contains the pygmy date palm, bougainvillea, bird of paradise, lily of the Nile, Mexican feather grass and ice plants, which are accented by sand, starfish, seashells and sea glass. In the spring, we look forward to California poppies, our state flower.
The Desert Garden is hot and dry for those who like to hang out with Liz lizard for a true story. It took two forklifts to sling, lift, and move the 1800 pound Cherokee red boulder onto the California gold pebbles. Some on-looking children said that I was “so brave with that rock,” as they watched me navigate its delivery, centered, among a tall euphorbia, agaves, blooming yucca and medicinal aloe vera (for burns). A safety lesson is needed on the difference between cacti (spines and leafless) and succulents (no spines, fleshy, water storing leaves).
The Rain Forest Garden is alive with a tropical diversity of flora and fauna. In time, layers will emerge for newly planted hibiscus, canna, philodendron, elephant’s ear, tree ferns and plumeria. Children feel the humid heat after a lulling rain, and the shady chill upon a closer look at the bromeliads and anthuriums in the mossy understory. They imagine howler monkeys, toucans, macaws, and jaguars in the canopy. We wonder how high a blue morpho butterfly can fly – perhaps to the emergent trees, and on a rare, endangered land needing protection.
Children can listen to the wind chimes upon entering the meditative Zen Garden, while being silent and mindful of the engraved message on a Mexican beach stone that reads Breathe. The Japanese footbridge is lined with silk umbrellas. Pea gravel is raked to mimic the curve of the waves, where koi swim. Plant life is used sparingly here, as a focal point, with a juniper bonsai (the art form of shaping the tree), mugo pine and mondo grass.
The Alpine Garden diverges with its Rocky Mountain silver steppingstone path for those up for a trek in the woods. The children’s pause comes to a standstill as the whispering winds blow through the evergreens, revealing nesting birds and Bambi, nuzzled safely beneath the cedar tree, where pine cones had fallen. In the spring, we look forward to columbines.
Flying into the future
To close Washington’s grand opening, children were enticed to return to the gardens with their parents, racing to see the contents of the mysterious red bag. The music to The Secret Garden faded beneath excited giggles as clues were given: “It’s alive, was refrigerated, is waking up from a nap, eats aphids (bad bugs), and is a red insect with black spots,” I said. “Ladybugs!” they shouted. Children delighted in christening the gardens, as thousands of ladybugs were released onto outstretched hands, crawling onto arms, faces and hair before finding their home among the plants.
Our future plans include a garden of berry bushes, herbs and edible flowers inspired by the famous restaurant/garden Chez Panisse, plus a serenity garden gazebo as well as fencing with wheelchair access to allow children to view the gardens from the inside out… Donations are welcomed for beautification efforts through Beach Cities Health District, Garden Education. This ambitious merger project will impact more than 1,500 students each day for years to come.
Heartfelt appreciation goes out to those whose support gave our vision a means to a reality: Vivian Ibarra, Washington Principal; Dr. Nicole Wesley, Adams Principal; Janel Alicia Bagby, Beach Cities Health District Garden Coordinator, teacher and visionary; David Cordone, owner of Absolute Custom Landscape; Tim O’Kain, Adams Middle School teacher; Bill Sun, Aerospace Project Manager and Scout Master; John Fleming, Aerospace Systems Engineer and Scout Master; Marco Catallo, Eagle Scout, and his parents Dennis and Helle Catallo; and Boy Scout Troop 191.
Thank you, BCHD CEO, staff and docents, Washington Garden Club and CDC, RBUSD maintenance, families and friends: Susan Burden, Gretchen Oshita, Donna Murany, Monica Echavarria, Cheryl Tarango, Monette Thomann, Sara Webster, Shannon Casanova, Ashanta’ Stoner, Antonio Lainez, Gary Winning, Fred Naile and Mark Watts. Over 20 businesses participated, among them: Scardino’s Italian Restaurant, California Pizza Kitchen, Armstrong Garden Center, South Bay Gardens, Wild Birds Unlimited, B.D. White Top Soil, Thompson Building Materials, Sepulveda Building Materials, Superior Paint, Anixter, Everything Mosaic and The Grand Emporium. ER
