Hortus Infinitus: A Sensory Garden Classroom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you walk through of the main gates to the show, you will see Tony's dramatic garden ahead of you. It is positioned away from the other show gardens across the Long Water to Hampton Court itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Sensory Garden Classroom (SGC) is a garden within which are one or more outdoor classrooms. This aims to improve the school environment aesthetically and provides an environment which enables the teacher to extend their teaching in ways not possible in a conventional classroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The show garden takes the form of a Greek theatre (Ancient Greece is studied at Key Stage 2, 7-11 years, as part of the National Curriculum) built from reclaimed bricks and limestone. This is within a bank planted with cypress trees and other Mediterranean plants that the Ancient Greeks would have recognised.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plants include the bright-pink, repeat-flowering Cistus 'Sunset' above left, and the tall soft spikes of Phlomis italica above to the right. The tall narrow columns of Cupressus sempervirens provide height to the entire planting plan. The spiky palm is the Chamaerops humilis, and the four soft olive trees are the Olea europaea. The visitor is hit by the incredible scent from the scented planting including Thymus, Salvia, Rosmarinus officinalis, Myrtus communis, Laurus nobilis, Allium schoenoprasum, and Lavandula 'Munstead'. Other plants include Halimium umbellatum, Cistus creticus, Halimiocistus 'Merrist Wood Cream', Convolvulus cneorum, Euphorbia characias and Phlomis fruticosa.