Our gardening expert Dermot O'Neill recently visited the sensory garden in Carlow's Delta Centre, where he met up with Eileen Brophy, Director of Services. At the Delta Centre, those in need of special care are offered an environment in which their individual needs for development, education, learning, training and activation are met.

The Delta Sensory Garden is an ambitious project which involved the construction and development of a series of interconnecting gardens of a multi-sensory nature on 2.5 acres. Visitors can stroll through 13 different gardens and enjoy the creations of major international garden designers.

They have been lucky enough to access the services of a major international garden designer, Gordon Ledbetter, on a pro bono basis, in the development of these gardens. Also, Chelsea Gold Medal winner, Mary Reynolds, has designed one of the gardens, while Arboretum's Rachel Doyle has developed another. Elma Fenton, another Chelsea winner has now come on board, as has Jimi Blake from Hunting brook, Wicklow.

Started in Spring 2002, this proposal has been enabled through the provision of a Social Economy Grant (now Community Services Programme) and developed as a result of extensive consultation with relevant local groups and interested parties.

The garden is entered by the Celtic Walk, which is 100 metres long and gets its name from the heavily planted Yew trees which border each garden. Yew was used traditionally as the markers of 'significant places' by the ancient Celts and is described as a tree which provides a living botanica in our landscape and those of the distant past. A distinctive feature at the entrance to the walk is some fine examples of Carlow Fence. This simple Quaker style fence is a unique feature of the Carlow landscape found nowhere else in the world. Carlow fence is a very simple structure consisting of long undressed granite lintels resting on granite uprights. Throughout the garden you will see many examples of natural and recycled materials.
This Celtic Walk forms the main axis of the Sensory Gardens and all gardens may be accessed from it. In the spring, five thousand daffodils dance merrily in the breeze, replaced by summer bedding plants as the season changes.

The Patio Garden is purposefully set adjacent to the entrance. A patio garden provides the ideal retreat when weather conditions are less than ideal. As the area in question, 12 x 21m, is quite large for paving, generous borders and island beds and a feature fishpond have also been included. The main body of paving here has been recycled from a resurfacing project in Tullow Street, Carlow. An arbour and some seating make this the garden to linger in when one's feet begin to ache from meandering through the other gardens.

Interactive Games Garden: A paved area has been laid out in chequered form to represent either a giant draughts board or a chessboard. Visitors can represent the chessmen themselves or large size pieces can be supplied. Giant tables carved from Carlow limestone provide areas for playing giant Jenga and Noughts & Crosses. The garden also incorporates a lawn area for playing Boules and Croquet, a summer house and picnic tables.

Sculpture Garden: The idea behind this garden is that sculpture will be rotated on a regular basis. It assumes that in the community, there are people who are interested in using their hands, perhaps have tried sculpture but have no ready outlet for their work. A sculpture garden will provide motivation in this regard. The entrance to this garden is dominated by two limestone sculptures carved in situ, organic shapes reminiscent of Ying and Yang. It is hoped to eventually (funds permitting) encircle these pieces with a stainless steel wall of water.

To the side of the Sculpture Garden is the Peace Garden: Funding for this project came from the Irish America Fund, Causeway and Oakley Housing Association. In cooperation with our partners from Leeds College of Technology, this garden has been designed to include raised beds filled with herbs, a pergola with stone bench for fruit tasting and a millstone water feature. Please note the Owl sculpture, created in Delta and representing the civic symbol of Leeds City.

The Willow Garden: Two German associates, who have woven living willow to form arches and a pergola as well as seating fit for a King and Queen, have created this little gem. The appearance of this garden changes dramatically from season to season. Donation of an old pump and trough add to the tranquil atmosphere. This garden has already aroused interest among the photographic fraternity who are interested in taking wedding photos there.

Situated between the Willow Garden and the Rose Garden, you will find the Mediterranean Garden. The paving here represents a large dramatic Sun, an arrangement of large and small terracotta containers planted with an amazing selection of exotic plants. At the end of the garden, you will find a wall water feature mounted in limestone, the water flows from the stainless steel spouts and disappears into a cobbled trough. Visitors are invited to sit and sun worship on sturdy benches.

Formal Rose Garden: This kind of garden is always a great attraction throughout the flowering season. Formal beds are laid out in half moon shapes with interconnecting gravel areas. Box hedging encloses the roses and at the centre of the design is an analemma (similar to a sundial). In spring this garden takes on a new focus as it is underplanted with 8000 daffodil bulbs, snow drops and cyclamen - a spectacular site when in full bloom.

The Water & Woodland Garden: This amazing garden consists of a large lily and fishpond fed by Carlow's first waterfall, which is completely accessible -in fact we dare you to walk past and resist running your hands through the water. A balustraded viewing area projects over the water and is complemented by a pavilion for shelter during our inclement Irish summers. The basic components are: the water, meadow grass and a variety of trees and shrubs to provide interest throughout the year - i.e. magnolias for spring blossom, maples for autumn colour, hardwoods for summer interest & shelter and some conifer for evergreen foliage and as accent plants. The whole planting is dominated by a mature chestnut tree, transplanted to its current site while mature and lovingly nurtured by Bach's Rescue Remedy!

The Stolen Child Garden: The Delta Centre is indebted to the creativity of Mary Reynolds for this natural wonderland. Mary explains her concept as follows: "There has never been a history of aesthetic gardening in the Irish tradition. The vision of the romantic, wild Irish landscape is intrinsic to the image projected by Ireland to the world. We all have a romantic notion of the Irish landscape being a place of magic and faerys. This is a landscape that is fast disappearing in our little island. The land to us is so much more than a pretty garden. It is full of mythology, history, pain, poetry, longing, loss and passion. This is a garden that draws on this range of emotions and reflects this wild landscape and its mysteries reminding us that the land is a precious and living resource. This garden is an example of a new approach to gardening. Here, the land is allowed to be full and lush with plants that are seen as weeds in a modem garden setting. Using wild plants here in a structured and simple way shows us the possibilities of their subtle beauty and the depth of atmosphere created by a planting scheme that is living on so many more levels than a herbaceous border. The idea of change as evolution is not something to be feared. This garden is not a plant-hunters paradise but an altogether different concept: An Irish Garden". Mary's original inspiration came from the Yeat's poem "The Stolen Child".

Two thirds of the way down the main axial path is a wooden construction called the A-Frame. This has four entrances and exits, and so provides the main point from which the visitor may wander back and forth into adjacent gardens. The structure incorporates a planted roof and a look out area with views over the entire garden. This unique construction was designed and built for the British charity Shelter, as a way of highlighting homelessness in the UK, and was displayed at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2003. The A-Frame was auctioned after the show and Delta made a successful bid for it.

Under the A-Frame you will find The Fernery. Here, shade loving ferns are interplanted with digitalis and phormiums. The surrounding rill moves continually and adds a sense of lushness to this unheralded area.

Scattered throughout the gardens, you will see some unique tree sculptures by Martin Monks, commissioned by Carlow County Council and on loan to Delta.

The Five Senses Garden: This garden has been designed and stocked by Rachel Doyle of Arboretum. A wooden bridge spans two quirky ear shaped ponds. Different tactile surfaces are used on the retaining walls, while the visitor can sit and inhale the relaxing scent of lavender planted at two different levels.

Lots of vegetables, fruit and herbs are available to taste and rustling grasses add to the audio experience. However the most stunning feature of this garden is the Kugal - one ton of pink marble floating on a cushion of water. This is the biggest water feature of its type in Ireland.

The Hubei Garden: Hubei is a contemporary meadow surrounded by a living wall of bamboo and canopied by Aralia echinocaulis. These Aralias were collected by Jimi Blake, the garden's designer, in Hubei province in Central China and are new to cultivation. The meadow is made of a modem combination of Oryzopsis milaceae - the rice grass interplanted with simple, see through plants woven through each other to create a haven for bees and butterflies. An esoteric limestone sculpture draws one in to admire the planting. The garden was designed by Jimi Blake, proprietor of Hunting Brook Gardens. www.huntingbrook.com

The Circle of Life was designed by Elma Fenton to echo the central drum in the Sensory Theatre. The design was influenced by Druidic circles. A paved pathway slopes downward to a seating area which encloses a limestone Fire Bowl. Planting is minimalist and consists of 12 mature trees in surrounding mounds. Tall rods in a half spherical water feature move gently in the breeze.

The Musical Garden: This "garden" is contained within the Sensory Theatre. This building is fronted by a wooden drum entrance and features a planted sedum roof. It houses a computerised musical fountain, which changes jets and lights to musical accompaniment. It also contains a Sensory Studio where visitors will eventually use interactive switches to activate a number of lighting/sensory effects. The development of this building has been made possible through a generous donation from the Sothem family and also through the Dormant Funds Account. The front courtyard contains a spectacular Thistle Water Feature.

Opening times: Weekdays: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Weekends: 12:00pm - 5:00pm