By Press Release
By Mal Butler
The mystery of some big leaves appearing in a garden next to Yarmouth Primary School over the summer has been uncovered! Underneath were found to be three huge pumpkins, part of a nature project which was started last spring.
Diana Gates, lead teacher of outdoor learning at Yarmouth and Shalfleet Schools, explained: “We were teaching the children about growing from seeds in the spring. Some of them brought in seeds for us to plant in our garden at the back of the playground.
“We had some pumpkins and courgettes which we duly planted. We then went away for our summer holiday and when we came back they had gone mad! They grew by healthy neglect; they didn’t even have any water.
“It was a total shock to the children who were amazed to see them; it was a real wow moment.
“We are going to make some pumpkin soup and pumpkin pie and hollow them out for lanterns at Hallowe’en.”
The pumpkins also came as a shock to school neighbour, June Ring, who discovered them in her garden when she returned from holiday.
She said: “When I returned, my garden looked as if it had been taken over by triffids! There were big leaves everywhere, but it was only when I saw a hole between my hydrangeas that I could see there was something else there.
“I moved the leaves back and found three huge pumpkins where the tendrils had grown through the fence. But it was a nice surprise and it’s lovely for the children.”
