WITH the Gladstone area looking and feeling as dry as a bone, students at Gladstone Central State School have defied the odds and created their very own oasis.

At the heart of the award winning garden and standing tallest among the herbs, worm bins, flowers and the scarecrow 'Gary the garden fella', the beautiful display of sunflowers serve as a constant and loving reminder to students of friends lost in the tragic MH17 air disaster.

Adorned with smiley faces and having tripled in number since they were planted last year, the current crop of sunflowers sprouted from seeds handed out at a memorial service that celebrated the young lives of Mo, Evie and Otis Maslin - family friends of students Coco and Giselle Loveland.

"The sunflowers remind me of my friends because they are bright and happy like them," Coco, 10, said.

"I love the garden because I get to see my friends and be around plants."

Coco's older sister Giselle, 11, said she felt comforted by the presence of the sunflowers in the garden.

"My friends were always there for me and I never got to say goodbye. The flowers make me feel like I know they are there," she said.

"When I see them it's like they are there with me."



Year six teacher Tracey Noe - who started the garden two years ago - said the little oasis helped students come to terms with the tragedy and also served as a wonderful place for students to chill out, get their hands dirty and touch, smell or taste the plants.

"This is the best loved garden in Gladstone. It gets worked on and watered twice a day," Ms Noe said.

"The students cultivate and look after the garden every day and sell some of the produce to the tuck shop or parents where we put the money back into the garden."

On Friday the students won the Junior Garden award at the Civic Beautification Committee Festival.

The students took home a $100 voucher and plan to put the money towards new garden beds.