Friendship Garden

Friendship Garden. . , In May 1936, the Tri-County news of Americus, Georgia, reported, "Miss Julia Coleman {superintendent of the Plains High School} has directed a program for the beautification of the {school} campus this spring, and many shrubs and flowers have been planted. "The beautification program continued into the next school year, and eventually it evolved into Friendship Garden. The entire community soon joined in landscaping the school grounds. In 1949 the local press noted, "Garden clubs and citizens of the community became interested. Today the garden represents the entire countryside." , Each year students from the school participate in "Garden days," when they pruned, trimmed, cleaned and improved the garden. Included in the plantings were azaleas, forsythia, junipers, japonicas, cedars, daffodils, tulips, lilacs, and roses. In the early years of the garden, a bed or iris formed the letters P.H.S., Friendship Garden became a focal point for both students and residents. Like many of Miss Julia Coleman's projects, it joined school and community in a hands-on educational venture marked by industry and love. A county newspaper reported, "Friendship Garden is more than a mere garden. It is a sacred spot."