Sensory Garden
The six raised beds and ergonomic tool display illustrate ways to garden for those with limited strength, energy, and physical ability. Scented, colorful, textured plants are featured in the raised beds, some of which offer sitting ledges.
One of our most popular gardens in our Discovery Garden with special features to help people with mobility or visual difficulties:
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Paved ground
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6 Raised beds at different heights
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Sitting ledges
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Low espalier apple trees
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Square foot gardening
The six raised beds and ergonomic tool display illustrate ways to garden for those with limited strength, energy and physical ability. Scented, colorful, textured plants are featured in the raised beds, some of which offer sitting ledges.
The Sensory Garden has a special garden for the visually impaired: The stones are to assist people who don’t see well to locate the plants –all of which have a different feel.
The Enabling Garden hosts the Carnivorous Plant Display
Yellow trumpet plant: attracts bees to pollinate the flowers. After flowers drop off, the pitcher grows tall and opens up. Insects are attracted to the nectar, drink it and get drunk, and slip down to the bottom where they get dissolved- pitfall!
Purple Pitcher plant: shorter, top is wide open. Insects are attracted to the nectar. They can go down but not up because of downward pointing hairs. They slip down and drown!
Cobra plant: snake like head with a tongue. Fake windows along the neck draw the insects down to the light and they can’t go back up because of the downward pointing hairs. They drown at the bottom!
Sundew: glistening balls attract insects but the balls are sticky and they get stuck! There is acid in the balls that dissolve the insects.
Venus flytrap: nectar inside attracts insects. If an insect touches the hairs inside, the two leaves snap shut and trap it!
The same Yellow Pitcher (Sarracenia) plant mid summer with the pitchers open.
Enabling Garden Plant List
| # | Botanical Name | Cultivar | Common Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cercis canadensis | 'Ruby Falls' | weeping eastern redbud |
| 2 | Euonymus fortunei | 'Emerald 'n Gold' | winter creeper |
| 3 | Hakonechloa albovarigata | Japanese forest grass | |
| 4 | Carex oshimensis | 'Evergold' | sedge grass |
| 5 | Paeonia | ||
| 6 | Lavendula | 'Anouk' | French lavender |
| 7 | Heuchera micrantha | 'Palace Purple' | coral bells |
| 8 | Lavatera arborea | tree mallow | |
| 9 | Rosa rugosa | 'William Lobb' | shrub rose |
| 10 | Lonicera japonica | honey suckle | |
| 11 | Stachys byzantina | lambs' ears | |
| 12 | Hydrangea anomala | climbing hydrangea | |
| 13 | Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus | lemon daylily | |
| 14 | Fern | ||
| 15 | Clematis | 'Vanso' Blue Light ® | clematis |
| 16 | Helleborus orientalis | 'Heritage Cherrywood' | lenten rose |
| 17 | Camellia japonica | 'Debutante' | |
| 18 | Cersis canadensis | eastern redbud | |
| 19 | Kerria japonica | Japanese rose | |
| 21 | Erica erigena | 'Superba' | pink heath |
| 22 | Erica carnea | 'Springwood White' | winter heath |
| 23 | Malus | 'Evereste' | crabapple |