• Welcome to Pop's Gardening Corner! 

     
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         Since the gardens inception in 2012, I have worked with the Frederick Douglass Elementary School community to establish its lab garden that is in the interior court yard.  It has  been a wonderful experience that has involved students, parents, teachers, staff, the administration, and even members of the greater Leesburg community.  You now have a very special learning space in which to grow.

       I am the father of Mary Kirk Cunningham, one of the kindergarten teachers.  Prior to retiring I was the Landscape Advisor and Director of Grounds at Christopher Newport University.  Mary Kirk "volunteered" me to help with the garden, an assignment I willingly accepted because of my family's love of children, teaching and gardening.  It has been amongst the most rewarding experiences I have enjoyed.  So, when I was asked to author a blog for the school, it was a natural.  It is my intention to call to the readers' attention what nature and all of us gardeners are doing in the garden as the seasons change.  Occasionally, I may make suggestions on how to work the garden into the curriculum or offer some gardening tips.  I always will be happy to answer questions that you send in.  The fact is that you and I can develop the blog as we go along to meet the needs of FDES and the readers.  So, let's get started.