Written by EMIHLE MBANGATHA
Selborne College is greening up its campus by turning an old school water fountain, which had fallen into disrepair, into a succulent garden, sparking green thumbs across the Selborne community and bringing the school’s values in line with environmental sustainability.
Selborne’s Coenie Breytenbach first found the broken fountain and intended to convert it into a flower garden with a hedge at the bottom.
However, in discussions with other staff members it was decided that a succulent garden more practically combines beauty with purpose given research confirms that succulent gardens increase work productivity, concentration, and focus.
Starting a succulent garden at schools provides pupils with hands-on learning experiences related to biology and environmental science, teaching them about plant care, growth cycles, and sustainability.
The low-maintenance nature of succulents makes them ideal for school settings, where resources and time for upkeep may be limited.
A succulent garden promotes responsibility and fosters a sense of ownership among pupils. It also enhances the school’s aesthetics, creates an inviting atmosphere, and encourages community involvement by bringing together pupils, teachers, parents, and local residents in a shared project.
The garden can serve as a platform for teaching entrepreneurship, with pupils potentially selling propagated succulents as part of fundraising efforts.
“After listening to all the ideas and consulting my colleague, Warrick Scholl, who is an avid succulent gardener and enthusiast, we decided to turn the fountain into a succulent garden because we started a gardening society at school this year, the Selborne Horticultural Society.
“One of the goals of this society is to uplift the current gardens around the school and in general to beautify the Selborne College campus with gardens.
“The fountain in the arts block quad is a centrepiece and I wanted to make it stand out,” Breytenbach said.
He said the succulent brings a lot of beauty and colour without demanding too much attention or maintenance, and it will also help with providing a source of new plants from propagation for further succulent gardens around the school.
“Selborne and Selbornians are proud of their campus and this succulent garden is a symbol of that.
“I think that having a beautiful garden that everyone sees while walking to class will encourage and remind them of what it means to be a Selbornian.
“The succulent garden improves the aesthetics of the arts block quad, by uplifting the scenery; and it provides a source of plants for propagation for future gardens around the school,” Breytenbach said.
Their succulent garden contains two main groups of succulents: echeveria, which are desert rose types, and sedum, which are stonecrop succulents. He also mentioned that there are a few other succulents, but they have tried to keep it relatively uniform and stuck to the two mentioned groups.
Planting echeveria and sedum succulents offers numerous benefits, including low maintenance and drought tolerance, making them ideal for busy gardeners or areas with limited water supply.
Echeveria adds aesthetic appeal with its colourful, rosette-shaped foliage, while sedum improves soil health by preventing erosion and thriving in poor soil conditions. Both plants are resistant to pests and diseases, reducing the need for chemical treatments, and they are easy to propagate, making them a cost-effective choice for expanding your garden.
Breytenbach added that they have been dependent on generous gifts from the larger Selborne community as well as large donations from L&A Aloes, noting that without community support, the succulent garden would not be as plentiful.
The school is open for donations of any succulent plants or any volunteers who would be open to supporting and contributing to the expertise of the newly founded Selborne Horticultural Society.
