The Parkview Garden over the years

The first Parkview Garden is a 44 by 90 inch bed that was housed outside a third grade classroom. That first year, Mrs. Nagy's class helped water the peas, broccoli, spinach and radishes that we all planted. They also cared for our first worm bin.

This garden flourished, and the students enjoyed tasting the peas, especially the peas, but also the spinach and lettuce. Until the end of the school year, when a groundhog or rabbit or other small animal gradually ate it all up. We didn't have a garden club yet, so the plants were planted by third grade classes, and seeds were planted by first graders.


Next year, we planted it again, and I put up a three foot chicken wire fence to keep the little critters out. I think Mrs. Nagy had moved on to a new school, and the room near the garden was occupied by Miss Maiorano's 4th grade class.  All went well until the crops ripened, and I thought we were going to harvest a big crop of lettuce to share with the school. But then deer trampled the fence, and ate up all the crops.

The following year, I heard from my friend and Board of Ed member Dawn Milburn that Milltown had received a $10,000 small grant from Walmart that would help us build school gardens at Parkview and Joyce Kilmer Schools. Collaborating with Master Gardener Jeanne Logan, we designed two gardens that community members, parents, students, and Home Depot Volunteers constructed.

These gardens have thrived successfully for the past five years, as part of the School Green Club.