23-24 NOVEMBER 2024
Glenys Yeoman
Play Gardens
Glenys’s Business is called “Play Gardens”. In her former career as a teacher, she was interested in Play as a great space for learning. The complexity of the natural world provides the very best inspiration for creative play. Designing a space to best replicate a natural setting was her first passion for garden design. The sensory experience for a child was one way of checking in on the idea. What is the seasonal change and colour that can be observed, the fragrance of that, the texture and touch, the sound and perhaps the taste?
A design with a rich plant element and natural materials, e.g. water, sand, was required. In educational playground settings, the other play equipment was tucked in. Glenys loves sourcing good grunty plants that do well in Auckland and have a realistic maintenance requirement. The gardens should reflect their setting and provide a memory of place.
Designing and installing play gardens led to an early involvement in the East Tamaki “Garden to Table” project, the success of which is still a great encouragement to the above simple philosophy.
Work with schools and churches has required an understanding of funding options, some thinking about the theology of place, how to manage voluntary involvement and sensible affordable maintenance regimes.
Sharing a healthy garden with birds and insects certainly adds to the delight of being outside. Learning about natural fertilizers, composting and worm farming, and alternatives to the use of insecticides and herbicides has been a natural outcome in the school work and in line with a friendly environmental approach.
Now semi-retired, Glenys still enjoys being involved in GDSNZ. It has transpired that the philosophy of “Play Garden” is popular with adults and children alike. The aim is beautifully designed realistic spaces of refuge for daily delight, sharing with friends and family, providing nourishment and a place to play.