Taking a stroll through kids garden

The garden in Cleveland gives children a playful way to discover nature.
By THERESA M. HEGEL
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
"Hershey Children's Garden: A Place to Grow," by Maureen Heffernan (Ohio University Press, $10)
In "Hershey Children's Garden," Maureen Heffernan demonstrates how the Cleveland attraction grew from seed to sapling.
Heffernan is the former director of public programs at Cleveland Botanical Garden and was the lead staff person developing Hershey Children's Garden, so she knows what she's talking about, and she begins by explaining that the idea of creating a garden specifically for children was first discussed by trustees of Cleveland Botanical Garden in 1994.
According to Heffernan, "That children need to have contact and meaningful experiences with plants and gardens is not a new concept. However, because more and more of today's children have little daily contact with nature, the sense of urgency to provide places where children can discover plants, gardens and nature in playful and educational ways has provided fuel to this movement."
Once funds were secured, a committee began planning the garden. Heffernan describes the process of creating this "childhood Eden": The committee studied their favorite garden design books, hired an award-winning landscape designer and invited children to draw the features they would like to see in the garden.
In the spring of 1998, the design for Hershey Children's Garden was completed. Construction of the garden was finished in June 1999, and it opened to the public shortly thereafter.
A garden tour
After summarizing the development of the garden, Heffernan takes readers on a tour of the site. Complementing the descriptive text are color photos from Ian Adams, Dixi Carrillo, Janet Century and Sara Guren.
Heffernan notes that the garden is divided into "two major areas -- a natural woodland and a cultivated garden area -- with a grand entrance area featuring a fountain court."
Heffernan explains that "a big part of getting the garden right is child-sizing it." So, all of the door handles, hand pumps, seating and other features of the garden were built with kid-friendly proportions.
The garden was designed to be educational but also fun and whimsical. A feature that perfectly demonstrates this is the Scrounger's Garden, which is meant to show children who live in urban areas how anyone can grow a small garden. In the Scrounger's Garden, items that are normally considered trash, such as old boots, teakettles, coffee cans and seashells have been transformed into functional, unique planters.
Heffernan says that the Scrounger's Garden "has a fun-loving soul fueled by creativity and the thrifty desire to reclaim, recycle and reinvent."
Other features
Hershey Children's Garden also includes a vegetable patch, an orchard, a berry patch and an herb garden, and children are encouraged to pick and eat the produce and herbs that grow in these areas.
There is a maze, a cottage with grass growing on its roof, a tree house and a sun fountain that not only keeps track of the date and phases of the moon but also sprays water providing children with fun on hot summer days.
At the end of the book, Heffernan includes some visitor information for the garden, which is a good thing because after reading her informative text and perusing the gorgeous photos, parents are sure to want to take their children to Hershey Children's Garden.
hegel@vindy.com