Newcomers to Lemon Road Elementary School were introduced to the school’s Discovery Gardens at a recent open house.

The gardens, within two interior courtyards at the local elementary school, have been around since 2004. The Discovery Gardens have since become a fully integrated part of the school’s curriculum, as each grade level participates in a minimum of two outdoor hands-on lessons per year that are directly aligned with Fairfax County Public Schools curriculum, and students work in small groups with parent volunteers on a regular basis to maintain the gardens.

Students have created a bird habitat, milk-weed patches, a birdhouse row, pollinator gardens, a three-sisters garden, a salsa garden, a colonial garden, a pumpkin patch, strawberries, a four-seasons discovery garden, quiet reading nooks, a sun mosaic, a sundial, raised planting beds, the Journey North tulip program, giant sunflowers, a rocks and minerals discovery station, a Back-to-the-Earth garden, a sculpted water fountain, and a cafeteria food scrap composting program.