Hi everyone. I'm getting ready to tackle my all time largest gardening project yet...a sensory garden for my mentall and physically disabled clients. The folks have many sensory prob;lems and I think that a garden that includes textures, smells, colors, movement, terrains etc. would really be a wonderful thing for them. My company is taking care of the asphalt walkway, bridge, any toold I may need and seating but I'm ultimately responsible for the design and most of the plant cost. I have a whopping 100$ plant budget and we all know how far that will go. So knowing the heart of this community I decided to see what you all could spere this spring. And for sure any suggestions or ideas would REALLY help me out. THis area is about 50yrds x 25yrds so I'm talking about quite a bit of space and there is also a pond right beside the walkway . This would be a blessing to these folks of no comparison. If you would like to know more about these people or this project please dmail me. ALL help appreciated.
Tina
Gearing up....
is this place in sun or shade or both? i have some things i could divid like a grass(carex) that i could send to you but it needs sun plmk
Its full sun right now
well i can send you some carex grass and green monkey grass if interested plmk
I'll take anything I can get! Thanks so very much. I forgot I'm in zone 7 is that ok?
Please d mail me your address, I have mostly heirloom veggies, but I'd be happy to share some. What a wonderful idea, I'm quite sure you can get plenty of seed to start.
Btw you probably should start a thread in the seed sharing discussion. LOL
Have you checked with your local extension agent? The sounds like a great project for Master Gardeners, Boy Scouts, those type of organizations. :)
This message was edited Jan 5, 2008 2:23 PM
Thanks guys I have checked with M. Gardeners they weren't very helpful. They'll help with the planting but not with supplying plants.
I have some yellow Datura seeds that are very fragrant.
I can bring you some noid daylilies in the spring. Just send me a d-mail to remind me when its time.
Betty
I have some purple flags as well.
Anne
I have iris, coneflower, Missouri primrose and sedum if you are interested. Course it won't be until much middle or later part of May. Probably not thinking of everything.
Joyce
Note: Very disappointed in your MG's. I am an MG and our group would of drowned you in plants for such a great project.
I will box up stuff and send this spring. Also have cleome seeds. Please don't send me any postage, just happy to help.
This message was edited Jan 6, 2008 7:49 AM
This message was edited Jan 8, 2008 7:42 AM
How about red spider lily bulbs (surprise lillies) and hardy amaryllis? I have plenty to spare. Send me your address in a d-mail.
I'd love to send plants & bulbs to help with this wonderful project. I have Iris, cannas, gingers, tulips, obedient plants, and gourd seed, & yellow 4 O'clock seed. A few brugmansia & Datura plants that are highly fragrant, but these are poisonous. Would these be alright for your garden? If you'll D-mail me your address I'll get shipped to you.
Dollie
You all are the greatest!! I'm in the addy exchange and if possible I can send you a little postage back in the future. Bless you all. And again, I'll take anything for my zone thats colorful, fragrant, swaying or textured.
I will see what pops up after the snow.
One thing I would suggest, would be to try Sweet Annie Seeds- wonderful scent, feathery, can grow to 5 foot...and I no longer have seeds due to family allergy to scents-
I traded or gave mine away.
If nobody has any, I could check with folk I gave them to.
Would you Marcia? That would be a great plant.
ThanksTina
Tina - be happy to share fragrant seeds with you i.e. Nicotiana 'Fragrant Cloud' etc. Not hardy to our zone but you'll have more seeds then you need if you collect them. Wonderful scent!! As for texture - I'm assuming you want "touch-ables" correct? I certainly can share some cacti pads but not if folks would be handling it...that would not be a good thing....ugh!!
Thanks Chantell. No cacti here please;)
Tina
LOL I figured...remind me if you'd like some fragrant seeds though, ok?
I'd love em' believe me.
please be very careful with the datura/brugmansia, they are fragrant but definitely not touchable!
I'll look through my garden, I think I have a couple of things that might be great for your clients. One ginger in particular has very fragrant leaves and is the most cold hardy that I have grown.
also if you are creating a garden to be accessable for disabled clients you might want part of it to be raised to sitting or standing level, ie raised beds with lemon thyme, lemon-lime mint, lavender, lambs ear, etc that could be touched without having to bend over
Erin
Yes Erin the raised beds are a definite.
Ahhh Erin - YOU always come up with the bestest ideas!!! They were wondering about you over in C & S...Sue's thread on the freeze, I think.
Hey Chantell
I'll check in over there.....don't want to hijack this one.....
;-)
I may have some lambs ear for you.
Betty
Tina, I have seeds for Red Spire Castor beans, deep red purple and get about 6-8 feet tall. Easy to grow. LMK.
Kyle :-)
take a look at my trade pages and see if any of that looks like something you could use. i have some arugula plants that are tasty that i believe i could dig up. these reseed here fairly easy. also, comfrey...large textured leaf. maybe a rosemary. or how 'bout a salvia greggii? smelly and pretty. i would love to do it for free but i am a single mom with 2 kids.
I'll help, too. I have to think about which seeds I have that would grow into something appropriate. I had some Red Rubin basil last year, but I didn't save the seeds. That smells so nice, and it makes good preserves, too...I wish I had some of that to give.
Tina,
1. Can you give me more information about the people you serve? Ages?
2. What do you do exactly? What kind of place is work?
3. If I sent you a plant that is not winter-hardy, meaning frost hardy, do you have a sunroom or something to keep it alive until spring?
Otherwise, maybe I could send you a rooted cutting in the spring.
GUys I understand how the $ thing goes and MJ I would not dream of using money that can go toward your kids cause I'm in the dame boat! OUr people are ages 18-75. And they are otherly albled.
Tina,
I will send you some rooted cuttings in the spring. I'm thinking of pineapple sage - it has a very nice scent, it is nontoxic, and it has bright red flowers, light green leaves. The only thing is, it can't live through the winter. So, you will have to take cuttings and keep them alive over the winter for the next year.
A small piece, cut and stuck in a pot, kept indoors in a sunny window and watered periodically, should last through the winter I would guess. Protect it from frost when you set it out again.
It makes a nice small bush when it grows up, with a nice smell when you brush against it. And the flowers in the fall are beautiful.
Would this be something you would want?
sounds great
if any of your customers are mentally challenged I would be very, very careful about having anything there that is poisonous or a major skin irritant. Otherwise some of the joy of experience will be lost. (not to mention liability issues!)
I just got back from a terrific plant symposium, they had a market there and my favorite plant booth had lots of herbs. I had a great time feeling and smelling my way through it. All of the different mints (Lemon lime mint and chocolate mint are my favorites), thymes (mmmmm, lemon thyme), lavendars, rosemaries (not everyone loves them but I sure do!) A licorice scented sage, the fuzzy one that I'm not fond of but it feels cool....Herbs would definetely be my choice in a raised bed because so many of them are low growing and could be experienced easily up close.
I will also say that if you plant something strong scented you might want to put it at the edge of the garden. Paperwhites, for instance, smell lovely to some people but I can't stand being trapped in a room with them!
Some of the other lovely scents I discovered and/or remembered this weekend were Witch Hazel, Daphne, Winter Honeysuckle, Meyers Lemon, and my alltime favorite, Osmanthus fragrans (Tea Olive) - which aromatherapists use to treat depression!
Hey Erin! Long time:-)
Have you thought about small veggies? There are lots of varieties of small tomatoes that can be experienced right off the vine and might look great in a mixed border. I have some seeds that I could share if you are interested.
Bev
Just want to agree with the above comments about avoiding skin irritants and potential allergens altogether, which will take a little research on your part.
Tina, I don't want to ask too many questions because I understand confidentiality, but is this a day program, vocational, educational or residential program....? I ask this because you could arrange your plantings to target what you are trying to teach if you wanted. For instance if you were doing educational, you could do practical plantings with culinary herbs and vegetables, if it were residential you could do a night-blooming garden...etc
Like Tropicana said, it would be good to know what time of day people would be visiting the garden. Some flowers are GREAT in the morning and evening and smell great, and are no trible...er...trouble at all - but close up with the heat of midday. An example is four-o-clocks. Another would be morning glory - but seeds are poisonous, I think, or hallucinogenic, or something. I know you aren't supposed to eat them.
For that matter, it wouldn't be a good idea to eat four-o-clock seeds, either...or anything that you don't know for sure is OK to eat.
And just because a plant hangs with the herbs doesn't mean it is OK to eat, either. Some "herbs" are really scent plants, or maybe to be used for flavoring but not to actually eat.
So, just be careful, please.
*Note that the pineapple sage I mentioned is more than anything an ornamental and scent plant. I would not consider it a seasoning unless I did some more research on it that confirmed that. And I never heard of anyone eating it.
As a child I remember going to my local park and closeing my eyes a listening to the wind blow thru the pampas grass and cat tails, sooo soothing! I don't have either of these plants but that would be a nice thing for the Blind that can't appreciate the bright flowers.
I have some seeds I can send not sure what yet I wil look thru what I have an see what is not toxic or harmful in other ways lol!
Caren
tmbolin, the offer still stands. i only meant if you wanted lots of my plants that you would need to pay for postage. so once you have the PLAN lmk if i can help.