Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden 

Bianca Tondo 

Garden Specialist

Summer in the Kitchen Garden

Summer has arrived in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden and with it comes colour, growth, discovery and plenty of excitement as students begin their garden classes for the year.

Our first sessions started with a gentle walk through the summer garden, allowing students to reconnect with the space using all their senses. With just a brush of hands across the leaves, the sweet scent of basil filled the air — a simple moment that sparked curiosity and smiles. Students admired the large, ripening tomatoes, marvelled at how enormous zucchini plants can become (and how much they grow in just one week!) and stopped to take in the bright beauty of towering sunflowers.

There was great excitement meeting the three new hens who have recently joined our flock. They have already become very popular visitors, reminding us how caring for animals helps build responsibility and teamwork within our garden community.

Everywhere students looked, something new was growing. Giant pumpkin flowers revealed tiny baby pumpkins forming beneath them, while capsicum, eggplant, potatoes, corn and more continue to thrive in the summer warmth. 

Our fruit trees are also busy, with apples and mandarins developing nicely and an incredible 32 kilograms of brown pears harvested — a wonderful example of what patience, care and collaboration can produce.

The Kitchen Garden is truly a place for students to shine. Each class will have the opportunity to harvest produce themselves, bring it into the kitchen, and transform it into delicious seasonal dishes to share together. These hands-on experiences help students build confidence, connection to food and pride in their learning.

A friendly reminder to our school community that all fruits and vegetables growing around the school are for student learning and kitchen classes. Please leave produce on the plants so students can experience the joy of harvesting their own ingredients, preparing them and sharing the results with others — one of the most special parts of our program.

We look forward to a season full of growth, discovery and delicious learning ahead!