Climate change, Prince Charles and gardens

Prince Charles, and many others, have been called foolish for expressing environmental sympathies in the past, as with the confidence of their convictions they speak out. Are we foolish to speak out?

I believe that anyone with a social, moral or environmental conscience must stand up for what they believe in.

If we don’t speak plainly now we will be reponsible for the future. If we do speak plainly now we will also be responsible, but for a better future. If Prince Charles can stand up in front of the European parliament then I can stand up in front of groups of school children, teachers, developers, architects and contractors, local authorities, private individuals and anyone else who will listen. I will (continue to) spread the message that climate change is real, is happening already, but there are things we can do to lessen the impact and slow the rate of change.

We can do the obvious things like use less energy: (turn off the switch when you’re not using the appliance/light etc, combine car journeys to use your car more efficiently, insulate your home, design buildings for natural light and windows for natural ventilation) and the sometimes overlooked things like: recycle and reuse clothing and household items (the pulled together Vintage look is very ‘now’, for good reason!), harvest rainwater to protect against drought, plant trees (for shade and for fruit), grow fruit and vegetables at home, make our own compost, attract natural pest-eaters into our gardens so we do not use petro-chemical based fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides. Moss killers, earthworm killers and slug poisons, for example, all poison off the birds we need to spread the seeds, the bees and other insects we need to pollinate our food plants and provide honey. The only healthy soil additives are natural products like straw, compost, ‘fertiliser tea’ made from mixed food waste steeped in water. Improve your soil, plant a variety of tress, shrubs and low growing plants, attract a vibrant bird, reptile (frogs and lizards play their part in keeping plant pests under control) and insect community into your garden and watch the ‘pests’ population balance. Remember, as any healthy garden needs water, shade and some hot sun for us to enjoy, so too, we need varied habitats for the ideal mix of beneficial wildlife.

If we believe the saying “you are what you eat” then by extension we are what we put into the ground. Rule of thumb: If it says ‘poison’ on the bottle, don’t use it on your garden.

Edible shade in sensory gardens

We use trees for shade in sensory gardens and increasingly we're choosing fruit trees for shade.

From a sustainability point of view fruit trees offer scented, beautiful, attractive blossom, food for pollinating insects, attractive-looking fruit, a source of local free fresh food for the community, add habitat-aiding biodiversity, their leaves cool the surrounding air through transpiration, and the trees filter and absorb rainwater to slow its progress into the ground water reservoir.

Coincidentally, when mature, fruit trees tend to be good for climbing, adding to both the (natural) play value of the site. Trees such as apples can be pruned or creatively trained to give a low, easy access, open structure.

sensory gardens for special needs schools

I am priveleged to be working on 2 new sensory gardens for special needs schools at opposite ends of the UK. The techniques used in a school apply equally to any sensory garden.

It is important to introduce life into the garden.

Water is essential. The sound of trickling water is torture for some people but others love it. Choose a water feature to suit your needs, and those of the local wildlife. If you are placing a free standing pond in a barrel, or similar, make sure that frogs can get in and out of the water with a ramp access of some sort.

Sunlight is also essential for life, so a sunny corner seat is a great way to enjoy the experience of letting the sun warm your bones.

A great way to add life to a garden is to add to the biodiversity of the area and plant a selection of trees, shurbs, flowers and grasses. If you leave logs and damp stones, moss and lichens will colonise the area as well. By introducing a wider range of planting you will encourage a wider range of invertebrates and vertebrates into your garden. Birds, frogs, butterflies and all manner of beneficial insects will naturally balance the unwanted bugs in your garden.

Sound and light are important sensory stimuli. Whether you use splashing water or wind chimes, bird song or hollow log drums set aside an area of the garden to be a little noisy. Light affects the way we see colour. For people with vision impariments it is important to have areas of light and shade, as well as brightly coloured planting and furniture within the garden. Create shady tunnels with bean, grape or espaliered fruit tree pole pergolas over a path so you can pick and eat as you walk through.

An edible sensory garden stimulates our sense of taste. Young children put everything in their mouths to fully make 'sense' of the unknown. As we learn to identify objects we make less use of our taste senses. We can stimulate them with delicious fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, planted within easy reach of the path.

Sustainable gardens need to be self sufficient for water

The concept of sustainability means that we do not do anything today which would harm the world our children will inherit. Demand for water has been growing around the world at a faster rate than fossil fuels. Sensory gardens need to conserve water, as do all forms of gardening.

In order to make the most of water in the garden, collect rainwater. Store it in covered tanks to avoid problems with mosquitoes. Use wind powered generators in suitable areas to power pumps to move water around the garden. Use gravity and pressure to move water where possible.

If you desire a water feature in your sensory garden, design a narrow canal, or rill, to channel the water. With a smaller surface area there is less chance of evaporation. Open surface ponds, balls and features with drips or sprays all lose excessive amounts of water. By designing small drops in the level of the rill you will get the sound of moving water. Get visual stimualtion through the reflective properties of the level stretches of the canal.

When irrigating the garden install a dripper system. It is most effective at getting water to where it is needed, the plants' roots,

The life span of dripper lines is usually up to 10-15 years, as mineral deposits in the water eventually make the line inoperable. However, neglecting to wash out the system periodically will significantly reduce their operable life span.

Flush the line for about 5-10 minutes annually, while using the water coming out of the hose for some useful purpose such as watering new plants.

See http://www.greenstonedesign.co.uk for more information on sensory garden design.

Water in sensory gardens

Water is a vital element in any garden, but particularly in sensory gardens.

Touch, Sight, Hearing and possibly Taste are all stimulated by water. As the essential element for all life it brings a real vibrancy to a sensory garden. Water features can be small or large, depending on the local environment, available space and the needs of the users.

Garden design for sustainable sensory gardens is a specialist area. With water becoming a diminishing natural resource, it is important to design sustainable water features. Water features with large surface areas will be prone to rapid evaporation in hot weather. Rills can have a large resevoir fed off a rainwater harvesting system, but a narrow surface area across the narrow width of the canal allows mirror images, beautiful wildlife habitat and low evaporatino rates.

Surface planting with water lilies helps keep water temperatures cool, and again slows evaporation.

In a sustainable sensory garden make use of the shape of the land. A compacted low lying area of clay soil in the garden could be turned into a bog garden. It would fill naturally during periods of heavy rainfall, promoting increased biodiversity, and a sense of wonder in all who visited.

Sustainable sensory gardens

This is the start of a new era. As of today I'm planning on noting ideas on sustainable sensory gardens I'm working on, or have worked on. I'd like to share ideas and hopefully gain some from you too.

First up: Materials.
For any garden to be sustainable, it must by definition "meet the needs of the
present generation without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their
needs”.

Paths are a significant feature within a sensory garden. To be sustainable, choose materials such as locally sourced wood. Recycled sleepers, bamboo poles and bark chippings,are low carbon solutions for paths. They require little processing or transportation. Treated softwood decking has the benefit of captured carbon within the wood fibre but takes more energy that the other options to process and trasnport to site.

Going up the carbon scale, locally sourced gravel requires energy for extraction, crushing and processing from quarry to site. It lasts as long as the bark choppings before needing to be topped up.

Recycled aggregates offer a choice of materials. They use energy to produce, but as a use for otherwise waste products offer other benefits.

Next time, water