- A children friendly garden for a new play area
- Planting to encourage taste, feel and smell
- Non toxic and non-harmful plants a must !
- Colourful planting with a focus on Spring & Summer
- Educational as well as attractive planting
Services: Ideas Consultancy & Planting Design, Plant Sourcing and Planting
This enclosed garden was designed for a new children’s play area for a village in Wiltshire, where low raised beds had been included in the lottery funded project. A child-friendly planting scheme was needed including sensory plants which would appeal to under 8’s but would not cause problems if eaten or touched ! A local pre-school group were also based on the site and would be regular users of the garden area along with parents and grandparents looking after young children.
Problems which needed to be addressed were to incorporate plants which would withstand children pulling at them, eating them as well as smelling and touching them. In addition the site was fairly open meaning that it needed to be planted with hardy plants that could withstand cold winds and as far as possible any accidental damage.
The design included research into plants which would fulfill the ‘sensory brief’, but would not cause poisoning if eaten in error ! Additionally plants which would cause injury eg from sharp thorns or barbs or those which could cause eye injuries also needed to be avoided.
The final planting design reflected these considerations and included a wide mix of evergreen perennials and small shrubs, bulbs and deciduous plants including:
- Smell – including lavender, rosemary, thyme
- Taste – including chives and different sages
- Movement and sound – various evergreen and deciduous ornamental grasses including Squirrel’s Tail (Hordeum)
- Texture – including furry leaved plants such as ‘Lamb’s Ears’ (Stachys)
- Colour – bright colours including ornamental onions, dahlias, chamomile, red hot pokers, cone flowers.
- Seed heads – various plants including sunflowers and honesty (Lunaria)
The result was a colourful area with a variety of fragrances and tactile plants to encourage children and their parents and guardians to interact with the garden and to learn more about plants.