As a landscape designer, I’m always looking for ways landscapes can do more — they should teach, nourish, support sustainable practices, and invite reflection. At Newtown Middle School, we set out to create exactly that: a living classroom that supports wellness, sparks curiosity, and connects daily school life to the natural world.
On Tuesday, September 2, the school community cut the ribbon on the new garden and welcomed families for an open house. For me, it was a moment to step back and see a once-blank lawn transformed into a purposeful, evolving space.
What we designed — and why
Starting with intent is everything. Here, the goal was to extend the school’s wellness programming and provide hands-on learning across subjects. That drove every design choice:
Pollinator meadow and native plant structure: butterfly weed, winterberry holly, red twig dogwood, irises in the bioswale, and other natives to support wildlife, manage stormwater, and offer year-round interest.
Productive plantings: a squash patch; fruit trees and shrubs (including apples, Asian pears, and blueberries); and raised beds growing vegetables and herbs like radishes and beans for culinary and nutrition lessons.
A connected layout: a generous gravel pathway wraps and links each zone, with freshly cut grass bands, decorative stones, and wooden benches forming small congregation areas for reading, sketching, or quiet observation.
Thoughtful infrastructure: automatic irrigation on timers and micro-emitters in raised beds to keep plants healthy; shrubs sited to screen utilities over time; a cold frame planned for seedlings; a future tool shed to support ongoing classroom use.
As with any good landscape, we focused on the structure, circulation, and views first. Every classroom around the garden now looks onto something alive and changing, season to season.
For students first
NMS Garden Club students will plant and maintain the space, building practical skills in health, wellness, and stewardship. Teachers will integrate it into the curriculum across disciplines, and student engagement will continue to grow over time. That ongoing evolution is, to me, the mark of a successful garden.
As a Newtown Middle School alum, it’s been especially meaningful to help shape a place that I hope will inspire the next generation — a garden that reveals structure in winter, color and life in spring, and lessons in every season.
If you’re interested in creating a learning-focused garden or a landscape that works as beautifully as it looks, I’d be glad to talk.
Reach out at:
203-270-3331
dan@holmesfinegardens.com
