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In 2008,
Exterior Worlds had the honor of donating a
landscape design to Hunters Creek Elementary School, located
at 10650 Beinhorn Rd, Houston, TX 77024. This landscape design
was for a butterfly garden, created in memory of Mrs. Kellie
Sewell. She had been a beloved teacher at Hunters Creek
Elementary School up until the time she passed away. The
butterfly garden was designed to ultimately function as an
outdoor classroom that would feature seating for twenty
children.
One of the things that we most enjoyed about doing this project
was working during school hours while the children were on the
playground. The students knew that the butterfly garden would be
their new classroom, so they gathered around us every day at
recess to watch our team work. They were genuinely interested in
our work, and they were genuinely excited about the opportunity
to have class outside.
There were a few things that we did in creating this outdoor
classroom that were unique in regard to the standard butterfly
garden design. We wanted to give the school something
low maintenance that would endure the rough play of children
and the scorching heat of the summer months. The location of the
garden, and some of the elements we used to construct it, was
also rather unique. We installed it in a very narrow space
against a gigantic blank wall with an ornate stone entry.
Instead of using the traditional mulch as the garden floor, we
used gravel to establish a stone theme. We then placed large
boulders in key locations and placed benches and created two
outdoor seating areas with long benches that would seat entire
groups of children and teachers.
For greenery, we planted a number of grasses, plants, and
flowers that known to attract butterflies. Such species as
Butterfly Bush, Butterfly Iris, Milkweed, Hamelia, Russelia, and
Turks Cap were included in our butterfly garden design. To give
a vertical element to the greenery, we then planted bottle brush
and a number of other multi-truck species for shade. By building
the entire garden almost completely in gravel and stone with
only pockets of thriving greenery, we made it very easy for
school
maintenance professionals to weed the garden. It also
eliminated the additional expense and labor of annual mulching.
When the garden was complete, the surrounding community banded
together to help the school paint gorgeous mural in honor of
Mrs. Sewell along the back wall.
Exterior Worlds was
honored to contribute such a memorial to Hunters Creek
Elementary School, and wishes to extend special thanks to the
many parents and residents who donated their time, energy, and
finances in order to help turn our butterfly garden design into
an experience that extended beyond landscaping to touch the
lives of everyone who knew Mrs. Sewell.
We are confident as well that in the years to come, this
innovative classroom design will create a unique and very
special learning environment where students will be inspired to
explore new dimensions of imagination and creativity
For more the 20 years
Exterior Worlds has specialized in servicing many of Houston's
fine neighborhoods.
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