The garden at Anne Frank Elementary School, in far north Dallas, was started by teachers just after the school opened in 1997. When it became a Dallas County Master Gardeners (MGs) project 10 years ago, it already had good “bones” with a gazebo where classes can be held, a pond with a waterfall, multiple small trees, and planting beds with evergreen and perennial shrubs. MGs and community volunteers subsequently made many improvements to the garden, including rebuilding and adding vegetable beds, adding compost bins, and filling in perennial beds to emphasize native and adapted plants. Rain barrels and a storage shed were also added, all beautifully painted by a student’s family member known internationally for her Mexican folk art. The Anne Frank MG project was the only school garden included in the Dallas County Master Gardener Association’s (DCMGA) Spring Garden Tour in 2022.

Anne Frank is Dallas’s largest elementary school with a diverse population of students from all around the world. The garden appropriately reflects that diversity with an impressive variety of garden types. It includes flowering perennials for pollinators and is a certified Monarch Waystation, with multiple species of milkweed in the wildflower corner and numerous perennial host and nectar plants surrounding the gazebo classroom. The building walls create expansive areas of shade, so the garden also features a variety of native, shade-loving plants, but there is also a sunny desert corner and an herb garden. The pond fascinates even the youngest of the students with its variety of plants and fish. Besides the painted rain barrels and shed, garden art now also includes a Pegasus statue “flying” through a small field of inland sea oats.

The mission of the garden is to help the multicultural student population, who generally  live in apartments with little access to plants and nature, understand ecosystems, appreciate nutrition and where food comes from, and understand plant and animal life cycles. The garden is used and loved by the school, with teachers bringing classes to the garden for their own lessons. They can also schedule time on Tuesdays for a brief lesson with MGs, followed by hands-on activities. MG lessons usually cover physical and life science topics such as plant needs, insects, and life cycles. Students might help plant vegetables and may taste something nearly year-round. Often, they are excited to see butterflies and other insects, lizards, rabbits, and the fish in the pond.

MG volunteers work year-round every week on Tuesdays (whether or not classes are in the garden) and monthly on second Saturdays maintaining the garden. Parents and other community members are welcome and can become a volunteer through the Dallas Independent School District web site. Volunteers may help with students and/or garden maintenance; no experience or training is needed. MGs wanting to participate at Anne Frank can reach out to the project leader. Her contact information is available on the DCMGA Members Only website under Master Gardener Resources.