The gardener bringing colour to school
This plant enthusiast has brilliantly coloured the world of students and staff at a school in Melbourne’s south-east, writes AB BISHOP
Schools are not usually places of horticultural flamboyancy, and three years ago, the grounds of Endeavour Hills campus of Maranatha Christian School were pretty humdrum. Today, however, they resemble a botanic garden. Hundreds of eucalypts and verdant lawn create a park-like atmosphere, while flourishing garden beds and custom-made ‘flower towers’ overflow with vibrant blooms.
The impressive transformation is thanks to dedicated groundsman Peter Lane, and a team of helpers that includes the man who has egged him on – maintenance manager, Mark Johns. “My intent was
to stretch Peter to another level, and he grabbed the baton and ran with it,” Mark says. “These gardens are an expression of what is in his heart.”
Peter’s initial inspiration came from Maranatha’s primary-school campus in the nearby suburb of Doveton, where Mark mass-plants winter-flowering Livingstone daisies. “We started expanding the gardens there to soften the impact of the buildings and noticed that the colourful displays really brightened people’s day,” says Peter.
They devised an irrigated arbor running the length of the entrance path, planting spreading petunias into self-watering containers. The gardens and cascading colour were such a hit with parents, staff, students and visitors that principal William Jackson gave the go-ahead for beautifying the Endeavour Hills campus.
Neither Peter nor Mark is a qualified horticulturist, but they have both learnt on the job. “It’s trial and error,” says Peter, “but the more you garden, the more you love it. I learn from gardening shows and more experienced people.”
Step by step, he has created bright and cheery beds, selecting plants for their size, aspect suitability and hardiness. He places taller varieties at the back of beds, and groundcovers at the front, to create a ‘grandstand’ effect on embankments.
“We have a theory that you can’t go wrong with colour,” laughs Peter. “No matter what colours you throw together, it always seems to look good.”
Scented roses are favourites, as is perennial gaura, which is chopped to the ground each winter. “The weather can be as dry as anything, but by spring they’re flowering again. People think we’ve done an amazing job but it’s about using the right plant in the right place.”
Other tough nuts include lavender, salvia, grevillea, acacia, osteospermum, goodenia, pigface, bacopa, aquilegia, correa and hebe. “We underplanted the eucalypts with grasses and they look beautiful covered with dew in the early morning light,” says Peter. “They also respond really well to hard pruning.”
There’s always something flowering, attracting insects as well as wattlebirds, rainbow lorikeets, plovers and other birds that breed in the gardens, unperturbed by running, jumping and laughing kids.
Peter says students use the gardens for creative endeavours. “The photography and art kids are often out here, examining the intricate variations of colours and leaves, and discovering bees in flowers.”
Peter and Mark are amazed by visitors’ reactions to the space. “I’m encouraged by the enthusiasm and think about what I can do to make it even brighter,” says Peter.
“The culture of the school seems to have changed,” adds Mark. “Everybody who comes in seems even happier.”