ROCHDALE
The Brief
The idea for this garden at Broadfield Primary School was born as a heartfelt tribute to a beloved art teacher who sadly passed away at a young age—a teacher who adored Alice in Wonderland.
The brief was to create a sensory-rich outdoor space that would not only honour her memory but also inspire curiosity, creativity, and imagination in the pupils.
The vision centred on capturing the magic of the Mad Hatter’s tea party, where oversized objects, surprise moments, and a sense of enchantment bring learning to life.
The Design
To translate this magical world into reality, we crafted a garden filled with playful storytelling elements and immersive features. Curving paths wind through the space, leading children past giant teacups, towering teapots, and sculptural highlights designed to feel wonderfully oversized to young visitors.
Bringing this level of detail to life required close collaboration with talented artisans: a blacksmith who created the bespoke metalwork, a chainsaw sculptor who carved the White Rabbit and a cluster of toadstools, and a mural artist who transformed an ordinary storage shed into a vibrant Wonderland backdrop.
Together, every features builds a sense of awe, surprise, and fantasy.
The Garden
The completed garden is both enchanting and educational. A circular seating area forms the perfect outdoor reading circle, encouraging storytelling and group learning beneath the trees. Meandering paths weave around existing trunks, enhancing the sense of journey and adventure.
Antique copper kettles form a solar-powered water feature, while timed irrigation (fed by water butts) supports sustainable planting throughout the raised beds. Adjacent to the space, an allotment area provides pupils with hands-on experience growing food and connecting with nature.
The entire garden is enclosed with chestnut palling fencing to create a safe, defined environment, and one of the pupils’ favourite features, a barefoot-friendly trumpet tunnel, adds a playful, tactile sensory experience. The garden is always enjoyed under teacher supervision to maintain safety while nurturing imaginative exploration.
The Testimonial
"We approached David to design us a very special sensory garden following the passing of one of our teachers who taught art across our school.
We wanted a space for the children where they could notice, wonder and create, which were three words she would always encourage the children to use in their art lessons with her. We chose the theme of Alice in Wonderland because this encapsulates the space where she taught her art lessons—a Wonderland which provides children with endless possibilities and encouraged their imaginations to run free.
Now our garden provides a space where her legacy continues to thrive and the children have a very special garden where they all love spending their time with a White Rabbit, a Cheshire Cat and all the other things you would hope to find in Wonderland." — Rachel D'Ardis, Principle
Get in touch today to start transforming your school or community space into something magical.