After we generated many ideas for our garden, we needed to sit down and think about the feasibility of each task.
Our first idea was to lay grass in the whole area, but we thought otherwise because the area is mainly covered in trees. We realised that the grass would not be ideal because of lack of sunlight but also it is an additional area the school need maintain.
Our next best idea was using artificial grass, we managed to find a company who could cover the area within our budget so we ordered some samples. We had picked out the best option and proceeded with planning to order it. Luckily it was also on discount (£6.99 for a square metre). After our excitement of finding artificial grass for a very good price we then realised this was not the only cost. We needed to pay extra for weed membrane, glue/nails to hold down the grass and also the labour to fit it. This is when our third idea came about...
We wanted to stone the whole area because it looks tidy, is low maintenance and easily replaceable if needed. Covers in Bognor Regis managed to give us a great discount and free delivery so we proceeded with this idea. Luckily we found a good deal on the membrane, but we were also donated a roll. We knew that one ton bag of stones would just about cover the area and didn't want to over order, but when we started to shovel the stones we realised it wouldn't be enough. An extremely kind donation from the local garden centre enabled us to use bark inside the Pergola and then use stones around the outside. This relates back to our previous conversation was the SENCO, as she thought we should use different flooring in the pergola and the outside area.
We originally had an idea to add a fence at the start of our area, and in between the area and the bugs hotel. After we had ordered all essentials we thought that this was not going to be achievable but after a very kind donation from Harvey's dad's business, we could afford to buy the fence as originally planned.
We all liked the idea of building a mosaic and thought it would be nice for the school to build with the children but the pressures of the school day prevent this from happening. We then decided as a group we will take on the challenge and proceeded to build it ourselves. It was a long process, but we managed to complete it, and we believe it will be a perfect addition to the area.
Roberto said from the start he wanted a water tank in the garden for the children to use to water the crops but research online showed that the rain water is not the best option for the plants and because the area is hidden under trees the water will contain twigs, leaves and other solid objects which will contaminate the water.