Client:
Rachel Madocks School
Eagle Avenue
Cowplain, Hampshire

Designer
Paul Bentley MSGD

Client Brief

To design and build a sensory garden for the children to enjoy utilizing sight, smell, sound and touch.
The design encompassed four raised bed for planting, two for culinary purposes and two for healing, to allow all children to see, touch, smell and feel the plants. A ribbed deck was installed to created sound from wheelchair wheels and for safety a Liberon anti-slip coating was applied. A series of resin bonded pathways led around a central planter with two offset paths leading to shape changing mirrors. Within the resin bonding were tiger paw prints for the children to follow around to a safe stainless steel water feature that the children could put their fingers in. The pathway then led around and under a pergola to a secluded area for the children to retreat to.
Shade sails in four bright colors were designed in the area for visual and shade purpose as the area is a sun trap.
Lighting and irrigation was designed within the project
The garden was designed to be enclosed for safety and for security when the school was closed.

Site safety and storage had to be considered as the construction work would have to be enclosed and allow the children to use the remaining playground areas.

Weather conditions and duration of works:
The contract started at the beginning of April 2008 and finished around May 2008 and was sunny and dry throughout the contract.

Suppliers:
Paving – Sureset, resin bonded aggregates
Timber decking – AJ Smith, Benfleet
General Building materials – Wolseley Centers and Covers, Chichester also Dudmans for bulk aggregates.
Waste disposal – Lift and Shift, Portsmouth
Plants – Petworth Nurseries (wholesale only).
Lighting and irrigation –Landscape Plus
Shade sails – Keepitkool

Final Outcome:

The site was cleared and prepared for the project
The steel poles were installed for the shade sails.
Inspection chambers were raised and the block work forming the raised planting beds were constructed and rendered.
The hardwood deck was installed.
The foundations for the pathways were poured and the pergola and trellis work erected.
Lighting and irrigation were installed and the render painted white.
The soil was installed in the bed and then planted.

The garden was officially opened by Ocean FM who sponsored the water feature and thanks goes out to all who donated and raised money for the appeal and also the suppliers who generously discounted their materials.

The project took 9 weeks to construct and the final cost was in excess of £28k

More photographs of this project can be found here