Nassau County Museum of Art

The fourth installation is different by design. Working with the Nassau County Museum of Art, the team built a raised cedar sensory planter, tall enough to roll a wheelchair underneath, so visitors of every ability can touch, smell, see, and hear the garden up close.

Each plant was picked for the sense it engages: fragrant lavender and sage, soft fern fronds and fuzzy sage leaves for touch, rustling little bluestem for sound, and bold gaillardia, ornamental cabbage, mums, and peppers for color that lasts into the cool months. Sedum and gaillardia also feed late-season bees and butterflies.

Scout Troop 170 built the planter and a set of songbird nest boxes, which were installed along the meadow edge of the museum's William Cullen Bryant Preserve. The Home Depot supplied the lumber and hardware free of charge.

Visiting

• The sensory planter is on the patio near the Manes Center; the nest boxes are along the meadow edge of the William Cullen Bryant Preserve.
• Museum grounds are open during museum hours; check the museum site for admission details.
• Touch and smell are encouraged here. Rub a sage leaf, run your hand over the fern fronds, and listen for the bluestem in the wind.