Now that the weather has finally begun to cool and the rains have settled in, it’s time to get started on the terrace garden. Designed to connect the school grounds with the surrounding landscape, the garden features a variety of trees, shrubs and perennials selected to create a segue from the natural ecosystem around the harbor to the more formal, urban landscape of Harbor Town. The garden was also intended to serve as an informal outdoor classroom for students, populated with plants that will attract wildlife for the children to observe and for visitors to enjoy.
In addition, the Harbor Town Homeowners Association has partnered with The Maria Montessori School to create a certified Monarch Waystation, part of a national movement aimed at providing a suitable habitat for the ever-threatened Monarch butterfly during its annual migration. In keeping with the guidelines of Monarch Watch, the organization leading the movement, the garden will be heavily planted with milkweed species, as well as late-flowering perennials, to provide nectar, host plants and shelter for Monarchs and the numerous other butterfly species. This will provide the MMS community with an opportunity to engage with and observe the magic of the butterfly life cycle first-hand. The possibilities for teaching moments are infinite in the garden, so let’s make it happen!
We have a variety of needs for the project ranging from donations for trees and shrubs to compost and mulch to plenty of helping hands to get the work done. If we can plant these materials by Christmas, they’ll have time to settle in, and the garden will be off to a super start for next season. Once we have all of the plants in hand, we’ll set up as many workdays as necessary to complete the project. Please contact Chris Cosby at chris.cosby@memphisbotanicgarden.com to get involved.