One of the great mysteries of PHS is the seemingly unoccupied buildings or ‘offices’ on the north side of the student parking lot. While the identity of the people working in the offices is still unknown, tucked in between the buildings is PHS’s own garden.

Run by Heidi Peek and the special education department, the garden provides fresh fruits and vegetables for culinary as well as a learning tool for special education students.

“I haven’t been out here in a couple weeks and I just got out here today and oh my goodness these things have grown.” Abbie Deaver, special education student and supervisor of the garden, said.

The concept of the garden started with former Biology teacher, Stephanie Morgan. According to Principal Dan Serrano, the district was hesitant to support the garden, because once gardens are started they are hardly ever maintained, and once Morgan left to teach at CGCC, the garden was almost shut down.

Peek and the special education program stepped up, volunteering to take care of the garden and it became a reality. While the concept was developed a year ago, it wasn’t until about six months ago that seeds were planted.

“The herbs are what we originally planted” Deaver said.

Currently the garden consists of sunflowers, lavender, beans, jalapeños, mint, and tomatoes.

“We would love to have fruit trees in the future.” Peek said.

The fruit trees could not be planted with the rest of the garden because of the irrigation system had not yet been installed, but for students it is not just about what fruits and vegetables are growing.

“I just like getting outside and getting fresh air.” Deaver said.

For a student like Deaver, being able to get outside and spend time in the garden is rare. Confined to a wheelchair, it is difficult to move her chair into the garden and maneuver around the planters. One of the changes that may happen in the future is to make the garden more wheelchair accessible for Deaver and future students.

For all students, the greatest part is the final product. “Everyone wants to plant,” Peek said, “[they like] being able to sample what they’ve done.”

The garden is more than just a hobby for students, “It keeps them involved on campus,” Serrano said.

The garden is still in development, but with the irrigation system now installed, the future looks bright.

“We would love to create enough that we could do a little farmers market on campus. If not at the least donate the herbs to Culinary.” Peek said.

The garden shows that PHS is not just a school, but rather a family working together to better the community.