Primary School Sensory Garden

Design, construction and planting of a community wildlife, vegetable and teaching garden at a local primary school in Maidenhead, Berkshire.

The garden was created within the bounds of an old garden area in the school playing field which had become overgrown and dangerous for the children to enter.

The aim of the design was to create four distinct areas within this separated by self-binding gravel paths.  These areas were a vegetable growing area completed with raised beds, compost bins and a potting bench; a wildlife area with a kidney shaped pond with British native planting and circular deck for pond dipping; an outdoor turfed amphitheatre/teaching area using spoil from the pond with a timber deck and naturalistic planting; a sensory garden with colourful plants combined with plants that smell, feel and sound different when touched.  This last area also included built in seating against the raised sensory beds and a tree seat around the existing flowering cherry.

The whole garden was secured with picket fencing and trellis screening, with pergola arches at each of the gates and above the central cross of the gravel paths.

Built with grants and funding from various sources including BAA and the National Lottery and help from both parents, staff and most importantly children from the school – we held several events during the two main phases of work, based around painting bird boxes and creating bug boxes along with getting everyone involved in the planting.