This week's Me and My Garden features Joyce Fletcher. Joyce is headteacher at Sandgate School in Kendal, which aims to provide equal education opportunities for children with special needs. Pupils are encouraged to take an interest in gardening from a young age and the school came first in the Kendal In Bloom Summer School Awards.

1. Describe your garden

At Sandgate School, on Sandylands Road, we have lots of different gardens. They range from our bug garden for our youngest class, to our sensory garden, our courtyard garden, our raised beds at the Sandgate at Queen Katherine site, and our Community garden. This year we also added stand alone planters at the front of the school.

2. What makes your garden unique?

Our gardens are unique partly because there are so any of them, but most of all because we try to think up a new theme every year to take part in Kendal in Bloom and we wow the judges with something different. Last year we choose the 'Growing for Gold' theme to link it to the Commonwealth Games.

3. What improvements have you made to the garden?

We were really proud of our art installations this year.

4. How much time do you spend in the garden?

Most of our classes spend a couple of hours a week in the garden from Easter onwards. We like to make all of our learning as practical as possible, and it's amazing how much maths, science and literacy work can be involved in gardening. Plus, they learn social skills like problem-solving and collaboration.

5. What is your favourite thing in your garden and why?

Our sensory garden is my favourite thing in the garden. It is well established by now, and all the colours, the textures and the smells, plus the children's gallery, make it a wonderfully special and restful place to be.

6. What future plans have you got for the gardens?

We will definitely be entering Kendal in Bloom again, but our biggest new project will be to plan and develop our fantastic six foot high tiered planters and beds at the front of the school for the next growing season.

7. Do you ever have any wildlife in the gardens?

We get many butterflies, particularly in the Catbells garden which is specially planted to encourage them. But by far the most popular inhabitants are bugs of all kinds-probably because they love the special 'bug hotels' we make for them.

8. Have you got a gardening top tip?

Simple and straightforward: Get everyone involved!