Phillip Naughton
Gardener

Maintenance of the gardens at Kew High School has continued to keep the grounds tidy. Andrews Gardening Service kept the lawns mowed, weeded and trimmed shrubs as needed. To enhance the appearance of the entrance to Musicland, the concrete pavement was painted over the summer break. Good summer rain, high humidity and not so hot temperatures benefitted the gardens.

Work along the vertical green wall has continued with the holes backfilled with garden soil. Some erosion control was needed under the Theatre walkway. Volunteer day on Thursday 31^st March was well attended with students led by environment teacher Kristen Lomax, two alumni with director Elise Dunstan and visitor Bev Middleton. Plants were donated by Elise, Bev, Calli Varoussiadis and music staff. Fertiliser, mulching and planting were the order of the day.

An area to the east of Musicland is being changed to a garden. This will provide visual relief to the view out of the windows of the Musicland rooms. The Landscape Lads have formed a new team, and are now working on cleaning up the area in preparation for laying a path and building a garden bed.

The last of the design plants for the Jacaranda perennial garden have been placed. This should give more colour to the area next year in the late summer autumn period. Bridget Naughton, the landscape designer of the perennial garden, came in to review progress and help with the planting. 

Next term there will be ongoing work on the vertical wall garden and the addition of more plants. Preparation of the soil in the War Memorial Garden will take place with the assistance of the alumni and environment students. This area will have a rejuvenation program, blending shrubs and perennials. Some out of sight grassed areas will be sown with meadow and insect benefitting flowers. The veggie boxes are to be planted with a mix of picking flowers and veggies. Future planning will need to look at reversing the degradation and erosion in the parkland below the soccer field.