Learning In A Garden

If you think about it, human beings have been learning lessons in gardens for a long, long time.

Sündenfall by Titian, 1570

Painting by Manafi al-Hayawan, 1294/99

A few years back, my teaching partner, Heidi, and I decided to follow in that fine tradition and transformed our teaching space into a garden too.

As I've mentioned many times, including here and here, Heidi and I love to teach to all parts of the brain. Not only do we use food, music, games and movies to enhance our lessons, we also strategically decorate our classroom to reinforce the visual properties of our lessons. A few years back, when our high school literature class was about to read Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, we decided to recreate the mood of the beautiful garden in which they swore their love to one another. 

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

After we finished that book, we took down these paper vines and moved onto something else. But I couldn't bear to throw them away, and months later, missed them so much that I put them back up. And so they remain to this day. 

After I took these photos, I was surprised to notice that these garlands bear quite a resemblance to the spring garlands hanging in my living room at this very moment. Still, their construction is different enough that I will explain step by step.

I started with large sheets of several different shades of orange, pink and green construction paper. In order to add more texture and dimension to the flat colors, I painted the paper. Here you can see the layers of red over the orange paper of the flower, and a different shade of green swooshed over the green paper of the leaf on the left. On some of the leaves, I dabbed on some deep blue-ish purple, to create a shadowy effect.

I used watercolors and watery tempera for this effect, and I played around with lots of different combinations and techniques, just to see what variations I could achieve. Although my approach was highly experimental, every bit of it was included in the final product. Gardens are very forgiving places.

Once the paint dried, I started drawing out the flowers. As you can see, the shape was very basic. I believe I perfected this five-petaled daisy in fifth grade, and if I can do it, you can too. Gardens don't have to be complicated.

Same for the leaves - I drew the simplest little outline of a leaf imaginable, and put a slightly curving center line somewhere down the middle. In some cases, I added some lines or dots to imply a bit of texture. Gardens are beautiful to the touch as well as the eyes.

As you can see, I used a combination of colored markers and black and silver Sharpies to draw the flowers and leaves. Again, I just messed around with different combinations to see what I liked best. In the end, it was the serendipitous mish-mashiness that made this garland come alive. Gardens thrive on variety.

Once the front sides were done, I cut out the shapes, leaving a bit of a border; then I flipped over the pieces and drew a corresponding shape on the back sides. Gardens look good from every angle.

To string the garland together, I got my hands on a jumbo sized roll of green curling ribbon and a stapler. As I attached each leaf and flower to the ribbon, I made a point to change up the angles of the staples and the positions at which I attached them. Gardens make me happiest when they are natural and a little bit jumbled.

Voila! The finished effect is so festive and cheerful. This garland may be a bit elaborate for everyday life in a busy home, but its extravagance would be perfect for a party or special celebration, indoors or out. When I leave my classroom this month, I plan to take this garland down with care, fold it gently into a box, and bring it out again when the occasion is right. Gardens wait patiently in darkness, and spring to life when they are brought back into the light.

And then, my learning garden will work its magic once again.

A garden must combine the poetic and the mysterious with a feeling of serenity and joy. 

-Luis Barragan