Sunday, October 21, 2012

The "Teacher's Garden" Transformation, Before and After!

For eight months now the ah-janns (teachers) and students have been working hard at revamping the "Teacher's Garden".  The beautifully transformed garden located at the back of Legacy school grounds has been a joy to all of us here that walk it everyday.  The pictures below are taken in succession as we worked.  Below is a pastel drawing I drew of what we thought the garden should look like when it was completed.
Ideas, ideas, Ideas!

BEFORE:
The sad brown garden had once been a deck and then gravel had been laid down for a
path years before.  Here you can see the cement piers sticking out of the ground and an old bamboo bench in the back.  

Here we put the old gravel pathway onto black plastic sheets so we could reuse it.  

We reshaped the pathway to give it some character and then added the gravel back and bricks on the sides
that were originally surrounding the cement piers. 

Leaves, rock, and weeds were cleared next.  Recycled tiles from past projects
were added to give the walkway a special touch.

Plants were panted in pots.  River rocks from the farm were added on either side
in ellipses as a stage for plants and fish bowl.
Soil was brought in for the right side and pineapples were planted.
In the background students are constructing a bamboo trellis.

Attima, Sern Nay Paw, and Katree weeding around the gravel pathway.

Jay, a past student of Legacy, came to help build the trellis around the unsightly cement piers.  The "design challenge" turned out to be a good thing after all because it brought the garden in and made a place for cucumbers to vine.

A side view of the garden....getting close to being finished.
Here tomatoes grow in the foreground.
 AFTER:
The sala bench is being completed here.  Rainy season has made the garden
extra green  and we enjoy the beautiful view from our office in the teacher's house daily.
Auntie Tumar and Muzar enjoying sitting in the sala bench during the Feast of Tabernacles.
Gourds that we grew at the farm.  We cut holes in them to house orchids and hang around the garden. 

The new garden wouldn't be complete without its own one of a kind sign.
Posted by: Aj. Abby