Redwell Primary

Some seeds can go in the soil outdoors...

...and some start off indoors

Potting up Marigolds

A Kilmarnock willow for the stillness and splashes barrel

Using tools

Tuning the jars with water for the sounds barrel

Rainbow colours for the Calm and Colour barrel

Coloured pots and flowers to match the rainbow

Water as ice and to show water as a refractor of light

Our ice 'droplets' hung up to melt away

Herbs and a water wheel

Ripples

Slide a stone and hear it splash

Rain and rhythm barrel, swishy grasses, tuned glasses

🌿What was your favourite part of creating your garden?

It is hard to choose just one favourite part of making our garden! We have loved planting our very own Kilmarnock willow tree and watching it grow and change over the past few weeks. Gathering natural materials for our suncatchers was great fun, as was watching them melt and drip into the pool beneath them. We also really enjoyed all of the sounds that our garden makes, from the swish of the rainsticks, the clunk of the shishi odoshi to the music of the rain drum and water xylophone.

🌿Did you face any challenges and how did you respond to them?

Our garden took a little while to get growing, because the weather in early spring was quite cold. But it is thriving now and we are looking forward to all the colourful wildflowers blooming very soon.

🌿What did you learn whilst creating your garden?

We learned about why plants need water and had a lot of fun looking at seeds under magnifiers, spotting their little backpack of food (endosperm) and the embryo that starts them growing under the soil. We had experimented with our water xylophone, learning about how sounds are made and why the pitch of a sound changes when the amount of water in a container is changed. We found out where puddles go, where rain comes from and how clouds are formed through our work on the water cycle.

🌿Did you have any links with your local community or a Pocket Garden mentor whilst creating your garden?

We were kindly gifted our oats, beans and barley from our local farmer and spotted them growing in the fields nearby as well! We were also given seeds, necklaces, empty water bottles and plants from members of the school community to make our garden complete. Our planters were donated to us last year and we have enjoyed refreshing them this year with extra plants and decorations.

🌿What will happen to your garden after the competition has finished?

We have reused plants and equipment from our 2025 pocket garden this year and hope to make this a sustainable tradition going forward. Pupils at the school have already loved watching the changes in the garden as it has grown and flourished and we hope to see more wildlife visiting as it continues to bloom. Children from across all our year groups are welcomed to come and explore the sounds, smells and tastes of our garden as part of their STEM lessons, outdoor learning days and play times.