This week, I spent some time outside on the Finger Lakes Trails looking for plants that seem playful and plentiful, in hopes of adding these plants to a guide that parents could use with their children when exploring their own backyards in upstate New York. Below is a picture of a variety of wild cherries (to-be-identified by Master Gardener Chantal). These cherries were plentiful and didn’t stain anything, so they would be wonderful candidates for play parts, especially if they turn out to be non-toxic:

I also stumbled upon the lesser-known black raspberries, and stopped for a snack! It’s important to recognize that there are many foods that exist outside of our current food system. Play gardens are a good way to introduce children to that concept.

This week, we gathered at the Ithaca Children’s Garden to explore the different components that can be included in a play garden, and debate the different plants that could be included in our playful plants database.

Master Gardener Lauren graciously guided us through the garden, starting with the hands-on “Anarchy Zone” pictured below. Included in this portion were Jerusalem artichoke, Willow trees, and an apple tree tunnel!

Many features like the one pictured below encourage children to construct things and engage in hands-on, creative play.

After looking through the bulb garden, we came across some willows that had been woven together to form a visual barrier behind a bench.

While perusing the edible garden, we spotted a small beekeeping area and a grapevine tunnel, the latter of which is pictured below.

The two Master Gardeners (Chantal Rogers and Anne Casella) and I have been working very hard on the playful plants database, and we are planning on incorporating some plants and principles from the Ithaca Children’s Garden into our work.

This week I took extra care to keep my eye out for plants with play props, and different unique vines. Below, you can see a honeysuckle vine that I found on Cornell’s campus. This vine has a colorful flower and a vibrant stem:

Here are some flowers that would have tactile and visual interest that I found in Cornells’s Botanical Garden:

I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for anything that seem imagination evoking. By next week, we will have a solid foundation of plants in the database, over 100 of them!

This week, Master Gardener Anne added 24 new herbs to our plant list, with 43 more in progress! Master Gardener Chantal primarily worked on identifying a number of plant photos that I had added to our database.

I continued reviewing numerous books, searching for inspiration. From this investigation, I found that winding paths, natural structural elements like log benches, and raised beds are all very inviting things to include in a play garden. Additionally, to ensure success, gardeners should generally have a mission pinpointed for their play garden before they are planned and planted.

I also reviewed different empirical studies that investigate playful plants in daycare and educational contexts, while looking at different playful gardens from around the world. Here is an image of Lena Meijer Children’s Garden in Michigan, sourced from their website:

The paths they included are inviting, and there are many small nooks for children to hide in throughout this garden.

This week I am in Denmark, so I decided to take a look around at some of the unique gardens here.

Here, outside of an apartment complex, you can see that the entire lawn has been raised a couple of feet. In addition to what is pictured here, there are ramps made of grass. This type of landscaping could make gardens (and gardening) more accessible to people of all abilities. Coupled with the right assortment of plants, this could be a helpful attribute for therapeutic gardens.

Here, a beautiful grove of trees shows the importance of both sun and shade in a play space.

Below you see a garden with plants growing on every level, from grasses and shrubs, to vines and trees. In this garden, the trees provided ample shade and wind effects. Vines gave this garden an enchanted feel, while the shrubs filled in any empty visual space. The plants and water feature, coupled together, had a prominent calming effect.

This week, I met with the Master Gardeners, Anne and Chantel, whom I will be working with over Zoom and we discussed the task at hand. Here’s a fun little picture of us together:

We talked about different ways that we can work the most efficiently and effectively together in order to get the project underway in a fashion that works for everyone.

Chantel mentioned that she’s planning on taking some of the children in her family to the Cutler Gardens to see what plants they find interesting– exciting things to come!

This week I finalized the framework that I will be using with the Master Gardeners to compile the extensive list of Playful Plants! We will begin collaborating this coming week with a Zoom meeting and some discussion about the topic at hand.

Aside from that, I explored some vines and grasses at Watkins Glen State Park, which was absolutely gorgeous!

I also decided to take the scenic route one day and walk through part of Cornell Botanic Gardens to reach Ashley, one of my advisors.  Pictured below are some beautiful vibrant flowers and visually interesting bark peeling away from its tree.

These are a few of the Playful Plant books I will be perusing in the next couple of weeks.

This week I met up with those working on the Playful Plants project and those interested in it to explore Cutler Botanic Gardens and discuss the project. Among many others, we were joined by the 4-H Geospatial Science and Technology team, with whom we discussed future opportunities for collaboration! Below is a map of the garden, and a Dogwood in bloom.

 Here are the highlights:

We started out by observing the corpse flower, which usually has a strong putrid odor. Here you can see my campus-based mentor Ashley Miller Helmholdt taking a sniff, while faculty sponsor Janet Loebach and I discuss what draws us to different plants:

We saw various “creeping” trees and shrubs which provide interesting hiding spaces!

While exploring, we discussed creative perspectives on the plants we saw.
The plants captured in these two pictures inspired a geometric garden:
                               

This ominous tree and these fun seeds invited thoughts of Harry Potter and Dr. Seuss inspired gardens:

                                               
Mock strawberries provide excellent (edible) ground cover!

Water features evoked an enchanted feeling:

Plants like the “Wisest of Wizards” lily have engaging names, which could be incorporated into a scavenger hunt garden:

Next week, I will work with master gardeners to incorporate these engaging features into our Playful Plants guide!

Since I was visiting home this week, I explored some interesting vines and wildflowers that were a little more unique than those I’d seen before!

Here you can see two kiwi vines climbing a simple structure and forming an arch:

This would be super fun to explore if you were a child, especially while it’s fruiting!

There were also some beautiful wild white roses in bloom, providing a lovely fragrant accent to the landscape:

Lastly, some Jack in the Pulpit popped up behind my house! A very interesting and unique flower, with three leaves and a hooded bud:

I also reviewed scientific literature concerning how diverse greenery can enrich play spaces. Next week I’m heading to Cutler gardens!

This week I visited Lime Hollow Nature Center in Cortland, NY to gather some ideas and take pictures of plants that children might find exciting! To identify the plants, I will use various plant identification applications, plant identification books, and the input of Master Gardeners:

Included in this Nature Center was an “Art Walk,” which featured many sculptures and painted pieces:

As I’ve explored the Ithaca area, I’ve kept my eyes open for playful plants, mystical tree trunks, magical hiding places, and the like!
I was waiting for a friend in downtown Ithaca, and spotted the leaves pictured below. I believe that the leaf galls (bumps on the leaves that indicate insects are feeding on this tree) and the plentiful immature buds could both be interesting educational tools, so I took a quick photo:

To round this off, I developed a framework in Google Sheets which can be used to systemize and categorize the plants I find.