The SRSB Heritage & Sensory Garden. The Rose Garden, Graves Park, Sheffield The garden was developed in 2022/23 as part of Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind’s (SRSB) delayed 160th anniversary celebrations and thanks to grants for the National Lottery Heritage Fund and The JG Graves Charitable Trust. The overall aim of the project was to capture, preserve and raise awareness about SRSB and our heritage.

The garden has distinct areas - raised and lower beds, the recess areas, and the pillars and pergola.

The raised beds nearer the café contain mostly culinary plants, such as rosemary and thyme, which have been chosen for taste and smell.

Those closer to the playground contains plants like lamb’s ears and houseleek, which have different textures when touched.

The plants in the lower beds such as crocosmia, have been chosen for their vibrant colours and smells. 

The pillars and pergola provide space for climbing plants including clematis, jasmine and yellow climbing roses. The central canopy when covered with foliage should create areas of shade and light.

The two recess areas each contain a large carved stone, with carvings and extracts from a Covid Memory Poem (see separate board in the smaller recess area). The larger recess area also has a bench with an SRSB inscription. The

The two large wicker planters in the garden reference basket weaving which was also taught at the school and which provided work and a source of living in the workshops afterwards.