Plants that smell of peanut butter are among the highlights of a Norwich school's new sensory garden.

Youngsters from the St Michael's Junior School gardening club, in Bowthorpe, were hard at work yesterday finishing off the planting in the new green space.

It marks one of the final stages of a six-month project which was funded thanks to a �10,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund and a further �6,000 from Norwich Consolidated Charities.

Toby Whalen, deputy headteacher at St Michael's, said the garden aimed to stimulate all five senses.

Bamboo and natural grasses have been planted to produce interesting sounds and a variety of colourful flowers for sight.

'It gets a little more interesting for smell,' he said.

'We have curry plants, jasmine and lemongrass.

'But the best one is a wonderful plant that, when you press the leaves, it smells of peanut butter. Nobody believes it until they actually touch it.'

The school hopes it will be well used by pupils and the wider community to reflect, relax and learn.

The job of tending it will largely be down to the junior school's enthusiastic gardening club.

Mr Whalen said: 'We've already got four raised beds around the school that they tend. In the past we've grown pumpkins and plants and, last year, the pumpkins were they used in the kitchen to make pumpkin soup and pumpkin muffins.

'But this is taking gardening one step up. We've got all-round creativity – including topiary with the pupils training the roses and wisteria over the pergola.

'This garden isn't just pretty, they will learn a lot from it.'

The garden is now only waiting for a canvass to be installed above it to allow youngsters to use it in all weather and seat cushions which will mean they can move around and sit wherever they like within the space.

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