Arnhall Day Nursery
Based on one of the children's favourite nursery rhymes, about a spider that was washed down the rain pipe, this rain garden is made from reused materials, and has gravel under the soil to catch and filter rain water.
The nursery itself is here, complete with a rain garden to catch and slow heavy rainfall and one of the children's favourite nursery rhyme characters. Who is it? There's a water spout!
Children at Arnhall Nursery built their garden using an old piece of drain pipe, some scrap wood and plants they grew in their polytunnel.
Materials were donated by parents after children wrote a letter asking for materials. A few parents brought in wood to reuse as well as stones to add to the base. The base of the garden is made of layers of gravel and soil to filter rain water. An old planter sits at the front of the garden to collect water filtered through these layers.
Tins have been used to hold Primrose and Tufted Hair Grass, and there is a sign made from repurposed wood. There is a Blackcurrent tree to provide food, and the garden is planted with layers of Royal Fern, Meadow Buttercup and Bugle. For wildlife, there is a birdbox made by the children hanging on the side of the building.
All the plants were grown by the children in the nursery polytunnel.
Children were able to build their garden with help from adults and then painted it in the nursery colours.
Building with scrap wood
Painting in nursery colours
Tins used for planting
Below you can see the original design entry from Arnhall Nursery on the left, and the finished garden displayed at Gardening Scotland along with nursery staff and one of the youngest participants on the right.
This Pocket Garden is a Rain Garden. A rain garden is an area of plants designed to hold rainfall, then slowly release it, helping to reduce the severity of flooding. Rain gardens filter the water naturally through their plants, soil and gravel. This filtered, clean water then flows more slowly to our rivers and streams. Any way of temporarily holding rain can be a rain garden, like a planter box that sits below a downpipe. Ideas about how to grow a rain garden can be found here.
