Maira and Brenna Schaerer enjoy the bridge at the KinderGarden at the Plateau Discovery Gardens in Crossville. The KinderGarden will be dedicated on June 23, 2015, at 10 a.m. Photo courtesy of N. Christopherson.

KNOXVILLE – KinderGarden, an extraordinary garden and labor of love, is opening at the UT Plateau AgResearch and Education Center in Crossville on Tuesday, June 23. Attending the debut will be master gardeners, friends, and the general public to view the magnificent garden. KinderGarden has been constructed for children ages 3 to 7 years and will be officially opened at 10 a.m. CDT.

There are many children’s gardens across the United States, but none are within a reasonable commute for residents of Cumberland County or surrounding areas. The KinderGarden is the newest addition to the consistently expanding University of Tennessee Gardens, Crossville, which is one of three UT Gardens across the state. Together, the three UT Gardens sites in Knoxville, Jackson and Crossville are designated as the official botanical garden for the State of Tennessee. The UT Gardens, Crossville, are also known as the Plateau Discovery Gardens.

For children who love to explore, they will enjoy the nine unique areas where they can wander through a labyrinth, try their hands at potting and digging, explore a pavilion, experience a sensory station, engage in sensory, enjoy music and movement, travel across a bridge, cross under a living green tunnel, adventure in a fort and expand their imagination with arts and materials such as puzzle pieces, clay and a microscope. Each area is designed to enhance their cognition, social-emotional skills, language, literacy and physical development. The garden is free to all visitors and is open daily during sunlight hours.

The concept of Cumberland County master gardeners in creating a children’s garden within a demonstration garden is “child’s work is child’s play” where play stimulates the whole brain, not just a single area related to a specific academic skill. It is multi-sensory, interactive, creative and imaginative. Providing play opportunities (whether on their own or with the assistance of adults) within a garden setting exposes children to the agrarian world. Simply being told how a plant grows is never the same as digging in the soil, planting a seed, pouring a little water and watching it for signs of growth.

The KinderGarden was the brainchild of Cumberland County Master Gardener Beth Morgan in the fall of 2012. Once approved by the garden oversight committee, Morgan enlisted the help of fellow Master Gardeners to assist with fundraising. Then, as monies were secured, they assisted with the construction for both small and large components of each unique area.

The planning and development of the KinderGarden has been a long and very detail-oriented process, but very fulfilling to all involved. As a retired early childhood teacher, Nancy Christopherson, Master Gardener and co-chair of the Plateau Discovery Gardens, is anxiously awaiting the grand opening, when “the smiles and enthusiasm of children will be proof positive of its significance and reward for the countless hours contributed by fellow Master Gardener volunteers!”

The Tennessee Master Gardener Program is a volunteer service program that trains and certifies volunteers in the science of horticulture and gardening. MG volunteers provide community service through county Extension offices. For more information, visit the website mastergardener.tennessee.edu or contact your local county UT Extension Office.

The UT Gardens, Crossville, Plateau Discovery Gardens is located at the UT Plateau AgResearch and Education Center. A map to the center and complete directions are available online at plateau.tennessee.edu. Free visitor parking is available.

The UT Gardens are a program of the UT Institute of Agriculture. The UT Institute of Agriculture provides instruction, research and outreach through the UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch, including its system of 10 research and education centers, and UT Extension offices in every county in the state.