Emily Hall

That's a great idea of letting the herbs go to seed- the buzzing things in my yard seem to really like when the thyme, sage, and oregano flowers.

I love the yarrow in my lawn, not sure if bees like it, but where I am it's native and great for any lawn with such lacy leaves. And when I leave a patch of lawn unattended, it shoots up and makes beautiful flowers.

I learned whenever you are doing something that might look messy to neighbors, you put flowers around it that will bloom throughout the year. So adding some showy flowers specifically to the edge may be helpful too from a presentation standpoint.

Many folks may only be familiar with the straight kind of machete, as I was, but my horizons expanded when I spent some time in Jamaica these past two Januarys. They have at least three common types of machetes, each with preferred uses.

My favorite, the hooked machete(billhook), is especially helpful for clearing brush and pulling up plants by their roots and the hook can keep your hands away from hazards like poison ivy or, in our case, fire ants and hiding live electric wires. The hook makes it great for working and weeding in the garden, and digging in rocky soil, in addition to the usual machete uses of cutting down small trees and brush. Folks there use it for harvesting fruit and crops, cutting sugar cane and opening coconuts. It's the one tool that most folks in Jamaica have access to and I definitely understand why. Also, if you've got skill, you can open a beer with the wooden handle.

This has easily become my favorite tool while I'm there and two of my friends and I brought them back to the states with us this year. I still need to sharpen mine(that's a skill I still need to develop), but I'm looking forward to using it on the farm this summer.

Tyler Ludens wrote:Sorrel, Oxalis,  distinctive sour taste, cute shaped leaves.

Ah, yes! I was trying to think of garden sorrel, with a lemony taste! Great ideas Tyler! Both garden sorrel (Rumex acetosa), the salad green, and wood sorrels (Oxalis), shamrocks, would make great additions.

Timothy Markus wrote:Mimosa pudica will grow seasonally. It's the plant that folds its leaves when touched.

Such a good idea. When I was in Jamaica, they call this plant "shame o lady" and it's quite common out in the bush. This makes me think of another plant that would be a good "touch" plant- Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana), when you adjust the flowers on they flower head (which it tall and spiky like a Snapdragon), they stay in the place you move them to. Florists love them and probably kids too!

Who has experience creating a sensory garden for their kids or students? It seems like I've heard a lot about the benefits of engaging the senses this way for development and working with kids who are differently abled, does anyone know of specific research into this? I heard about this idea while working at a Montessori school and really fell in love with it. Here are some of my thoughts around designing one:

1. Potentially consider native species first (Northeast United States, zone 6a)
2. Probably would want to make sure all plants are non-toxic in case someone tries to eat from a different category (say eating a "touch")
3. Plant ideas!

Touch- different textures, moving parts
Lamb's Ear (Stachys byzantina)
Snapdragon (Antirrhinum)
Echinacea

Taste- herbs, edible flowers, fruits and veggies
Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus)
Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa)

Smell- culinary herbs, fragrant flowers
Lavendar (Lavandula)
Thyme (Thymus)
Sage (Salvia officinalis)

Sight- vibrant colors, interesting shapes, bird and butterfly attractors
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)
Sunflower (Helianthus)
Swiss chard ‘Bright Lights’ (Beta vulgaris)

Sound- seedpods, water features, bee and insect attractors, rustling foliage
Money plant (Lunaria annua)- seedpods
Rushes (Juncaceae)
Gourds

You can see there is a lot of overlap too, especially since I'm looking to make all the plants non-toxic. Sound seems to be the hardest category to brainstorm in. The more I look into this and think about it, the more excited I get to try this out at home... I have a brand new hugel that needs populating, maybe I'll make it a sensory hugel? What other ideas and experiences do you have? Which other plants could I put on this list?

I've experienced Uncle Mud's muddy shenanigans across the US and abroad. He brings the mud to the people and empowers folks and communities in projects including rocket mass heaters, pizza ovens, tandoori ovens, rocket cook tops, cob structures, earthen plasters, and also mud fights!  So glad to see this come to life to spread the muddy love and so stoked to get my own copy in the upcoming Kickstarter bundle!!