Van Gogh was inspiration for Fisher's floral renewal
Retired attorney initiated project
By Leigh Ann Maze
As spring fast approaches, it will be hard to miss the new landscaping at Fisher Middle School. The 30 Japanese flowering cherry trees planted in front of the school during winter vacation will soon be in full bloom along with 3,000 recently planted tulip, Dutch iris and daffodil bulbs.
"It should be a real spectacle, unequaled in this area," said Norm Stoner, a retired attorney, longtime Los Gatos resident and the driving force behind Fisher's recent landscaping. Stoner's three sons attended Los Gatos schools and he was president of the Home and School Club in 1961 when he orchestrated the landscaping of the brand-new Fisher campus.
Thirty-nine years later, the campus landscaping has not received a lot of attention due to limited school resources. "As much as it saddens me to say, we look shabby," principal Cullen Hewitt said, adding that the school has not been painted in 13 years. This fall, the eighth-grade class decided to leave their legacy to the school by raising money for campus beautification.
At the same time, Stoner, 85, approached Hewitt with his landscaping plan. With Hewitt's agreement and support from the student council, Stoner recruited 1983 Fisher graduate Kirk Armstrong, who is volunteering his time as the landscaping designer for the project. Armstrong, a Los Gatos resident, took two years of ornamental horticulture classes at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo before receiving a graphic design degree. He is an associate at Sakamoto Plants in Los Gatos.
Owner Paul Sakamoto, a retired superintendent of Palo Alto schools, is allowing Stoner and Armstrong to purchase the plants through his nursery at wholesale prices. Along with a donation from the Home and School Club and muscle power provided by the Dad's Club and many parent and student volunteers, Stoner and Armstrong began designing and planting during the past several months.
The landscaping plan with a Japanese theme includes hardy, low-maintenance plants of several varieties to ensure year-round bloom. "It will be a continual display of color," Stoner said.
Stoner and Armstrong took care in selecting the type of plants as well as in the look of the finished product. "I went through a Van Gogh book and got inspiration from his paintings," Armstrong said. "Many of Van Gogh's paintings have almond blossoms. That's what I wanted to emulate with the cherry trees." Along with the Van Gogh plot, a Picasso plot and a Goya plot were also designed.
Many flowers, including blue crocus and a small evergreen tree, were added to the memorial plots in front of the school, established in memory of the Peckler family, Adam Brown and Andrea Rugani. "We wanted to make them look really nice, for the families," Armstrong said.
The landscaping in front of the school is expected to be finished by mid-March. If they can gather enough resources, Stoner and Armstrong hope to move on to the second phase of their plan. "We want to move our project to the inner quad, where the classrooms are," Armstrong said, adding that they hope to install a new sprinkler system as well. Stoner is seeking donations from community members and businesses to keep the landscaping project moving forward.
"It will do a lot for the morale of the people who are here on a daily basis, especially the staff," Hewitt said. "Instead of being a drab, blue school we are getting some color and beauty that is sorely needed."
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
