Pin Oak
Sensory Garden
Winelands Village Estate, Raithby
Pin Oak is a small sensory garden designed and implemented at Winelands Village Estate in Raithby for a family seeking a more meaningful and supportive outdoor space for their neurodivergent teenager. The brief called for a garden that could hold moments of play, comfort, movement, and sensory engagement within a compact residential setting.
The design uses tactile elements, stepping stones, fragrant planting, flowering species, and varied textures to create a garden that can be experienced through touch, scent, movement, and quiet observation. Planting was used to soften the edges of the space and blur the boundary between the garden and the larger estate landscape, allowing the small garden to feel more generous, layered, and connected.
At its heart, this project is a reminder of what thoughtful garden-making can offer beyond visual beauty. It speaks to care, empathy, and the quiet strength of parents who shape supportive environments for their children — creating a space where comfort, connection, and everyday wellbeing can gently unfold.
This garden won a Gold Award in the 2026 SALI Awards of Excellence. The following were the judges’ comments:
Pete’s Sensory Garden is a thoughtful and empathetic design that demonstrates how landscape design and construction can create meaningful, inclusive spaces tailored to individual needs. Marais Landscaping’s design for this neurodivergent teenager and his family proves that small gardens can work extraordinarily hard when designed through deep listening and care.
The garden’s spatial organisation is well thought-out: nestled between existing mature trees and a dam embankment, the back garden creates a cool, sheltered, and quiet sanctuary for Pete’s custom swing, trampoline, and giant tree stump. The design team’s sensitivity to sensory diversity is evident throughout, as textured and scented plantings combine with varied pathway materials to offer rich tactile and sensory experiences without being overwhelming.
Despite its modest scale, the garden achieves spatial intrigue through wandering pathways and strategic planting placement that invite exploration and discovery. Importantly, the design balances Pete’s specific needs with the family’s broader requirements: a well-located kitchen garden integrates herbs, fruiting trees, vegetables, and useful plants in a contemporary composition.
Guillaume Marais and the team have created not just a family garden, but a supportive environment that supports wellbeing and embraces neurodiversity. This small landscape installation was well-intended and executed against all odds & obstacles.