SUMMER PLEASURES

(

A Child's Garden

lthough Jane Taylor
was the garden curator
and Jeffrey Kacos and
eborah Kinney were
1-- the landscape architects, many of
2 the ideas for the 4-H Children's
Li-,
m Garden at Michigan State Uni-
ty versity in East Lansing came from
children.
Peter the Rabbit, Alice in Won-
derland, Jack's beanstalk, dinosaurs

S78

and a tree house were all chil-
dren's suggestions. The loudest
and biggest request was for no
"NO" signs. The children want-
ed to touch, feel and smell the ros-
es along the way. "Please gently
touch" is the only sign visible in
the garden.
"The 4-H Children's Garden at
MSU may be the most creative
half-acre in America," says Laura

C. Martin in the newly released
book Gardens of the Heartland
(Abbeville, $45).
The garden contains hands-on
displays. The dance chime is a pop-,
ular spot where musical tones are
activated by children's footsteps.
The sundial spot allows children
to tell time using their shadows.
Education and promoting a
healthy attitude toward the envi- -

ronment are part of the garden's
mission. The rainbow garden
shows where in the world the
plants grow The pharmacy gar-
den explains how plants are used
for fighting diseases. The am-
phitheater is the site for educa-
tional entertainment.
Author Laura Martin's obser-
vations sum up this special garden.
"Howluc \;ve:.are that in this

child's garden, verse after verse of
laughter and happy chatter are
heard in a never-ending refrain.
Here that most cherished charac-
teristic of children of all ages —
a sense of imagination and awe
— is nurtured until it takes root
and lasts a lifetime." ❑