Where Lions Learn and Remember

April 23, 2002

Daniel High school, home of the Lions, is located in Six Mile about 10 miles outside of Clemson SC. The school has an interior courtyard that was the focus of the project. The senior students at the school wanted to create a memorial for students that have past away while still in school there. There has already been some work done in the courtyards northwest side.

A memorial tree (Bradford pair) and a monument have been centered along the side of the building in this area. On either side of the tree and the monument, dwarf yaupon hollies have been placed. Three doors enter the courtyard one on the southeast wall directly across from the memorial tree, on in the north corner, and one in the west corner. Sidewalks divide the courtyard into four main planting areas. The first and smallest contains the memorial tree. Two of the others are along the northeast and southeast walls. The southeast side contains dogwoods and azaleas. The northwest side contains dogwoods and Butterfly bushes. The largest area between the sidewalks is in the center of the courtyard. This area contains three large maples and on dogwood. In the center of this area a fountain will be placed. This will be the focus of most of the project.
Since the students are taking on this project a low budget is very necessary.

The first thing that should be done is to have an arborist to look at the existing dogwoods and make recommendations for removing the dead wood. On the southwest side of the building more azaleas should be added to replace the ones that have died. Lenten rose can then be used to border the sidewalk. This will be blooming in the middle of winter when there is not much color from any thing else. On the opposite northeast side several more butterfly bushes should be added to fill in the bare spots the design. This will help to bring butterflies to the courtyard and liven it up a little more.

Moving to the center of the courtyard to the area around the fountain. There should be four walks leading into this area to make it more accessible to everyone. Moving from the sidewalk that is already there, ajuga will be planted this low evergreen ground cover will provide purple flowers in mid April and provide a nice look even in the dead of winter. Behind the ajuga daffodils will provide color in March. After the students have returned to school from summer break pansies can be planted over the bulbs of the daffodils to provide color until the next spring. Moving on toward the fountain Astilbe will provide color in late spring. As you reach the sidewalk around the fountain, curved benches provide a place to site and reflect on events that have happened. These benches are backed by costal leucothoe this separates them from the rest of the courtyard and provides a soft background. In the planter around the fountain periwinkle falls over the wall to help soften the concrete a little. This is interplanted with Siberian iris that will provide spring color closer to eye level.

The similar water and maintenance requirements of the plants make them easy to maintain. This design also makes the most of the existing plant material. The low coast makes it very possible for the students to implement. With some fundraising and a little outside help, perhaps from parents and the community the students can have a place to use as an outdoor classroom and a place to remember past friends.