Penhurst School, Oxfordshire
This sensory woodland garden was designed for children with multiple and profound disabilities. The central garden consists of 5 courtyard ‘rooms’, each devoted to one of the five senses. In the courtyard devoted to ‘sight’, for instance, the border was designed in a rainbow colour scheme, from violet on the left, through the full spectrum, to red on the right. The outer pathway provides a wheelchair-accessible, circular woodland walk, providing sensory stimulation on all sides. The walk is surrounded by a hedge of many flowering and berry species designed for year-round colour and scent. The 3 trees each relate to one of the senses: the quaking aspen (populus tremulus) on the left for sound, the liquidambar at the top for autumn colour, and the apple tree (malus ‘Jonagold’) on the right, for taste. The entire planting is underplanted with groundcover species to create habitats for insects and invertebrates, and the shrubs provide pollen and nectar for bees and butterflies, as well as berries for birds.
