"Gardening is the art that uses flowers and plants
as paint, and the soil and sky as canvas."

- Elizabeth Murray

Concept sketches for the Briones garden were provided courtesy of Keith Armstrong, an architect of landscapes and homes in the Bay Area. Keith can be reached at (408)734-2344.

There are about a dozen potential garden sites scattered around the Juana Briones campus, some of them have been previously used for gardens, others are ripe for greening. Following the interest and direction of the classroom teachers, we hope to develop many of these sites into welcoming spaces for learning and growing.

The first site we will rejuvenate is the former garden site behind rooms 4 - 8. Keith Armstrong (home and landscape architect) sketched the image shown above from the landscape design he has created for this site. Keith's full design and more sketches are on display in the window of the Principal's office and on this web site. The Juana Briones garden committee envisions a place teaming with plants, wildlife, and children. Vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruit trees, compost piles, mosaic benches, and sculptures will all have a place in this garden.

The district has agreed to build a drainage system, remove some asphalt, install irrigation, and lay an asphalt path along the building. We need support from the community to help the rest of our garden materialize.

Here are a few things we need:

help with these aspects or materials:

• Salvage crew - salvage work and demo tools, transportation of materials
• Storage - a place to store donated items
• Ceramics - tiles, pottery, fountains, etc.
• Special skills - organic gardening, tree pruning, pond making, stonework, brick laying, etc.
• Concrete pouring - benches, other structures, etc.
• Fencing - metal, wood, rock, etc.
• Grant writing
• Irrigation design and construction
• Cedar or redwood (untreated) for beds - 2" x 6" , 2" x 8" , 2" x12", etc. Also 2" x 2"s for stakes
• Cedar or redwood for fencing - 4" x 4" posts
• Tiles for mosaic
• Pavers
• Plants/seedlings
• Irrigation materials - pipe, sprinkler heads, drip lines and fittings, etc.
• Granite fines and gravel
• Statuary
• Large pots or containers for planting

If you are able to help in any way, please contact:

Cara Stoneburner
c/o Garden Committee
Juana Briones Elementary School
4100 Orme Street
Palo Alto, CA 94306
650-856-0877