GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The Fockele Garden Company designed and built a sensory garden at the Northeast Georgia Speech Center in Gainesville with features developed to stimulate the five senses: sound, smell, sight, touch and taste.
The sensory garden gives the Speech Center another way of assisting students with speech and hearing developmental issues.
“It's a way of heightening senses,” said Diane Brower, Northeast Georgia Speech Center director and speech-language pathologist. “It's very popular with the children. They really enjoy playing in the garden.”
The garden features edible plants in child-size planters, along with sound tubes, a steel drum, a musical fence and a pebble harp. The idea is to give the students a variety of sound, smell and touch options at an accessible size for preschoolers.
“Sensory gardens engage you in all elements of the garden,” said Julie Evans, The Fockele Garden Company co-owner. “Students can feel plants with different textures, see bright colors, and smell the herbs and flowers. The sound tubes, steel drum, pebble harp, and fountain add sound elements to the garden.”