The Secret Garden at Banana Moon Bromley Nursery: Outdoor Play, Learning and Adventure
The Secret Garden at Banana Moon Bromley Nursery
Step through the gate and discover the Secret Garden at Banana Moon Bromley. This tucked-away space is a world of mud pies, story hideaways, bug hunts and planting pots, created to give children freedom to explore, imagine and learn in their own way.
Unlike a polished playground, our Secret Garden is deliberately rustic. Tree stumps, mud, tyres, logs and wooden structures create endless opportunities for discovery and adventure. The garden also features colourful hanging pots, giving children the chance to plant seeds, watch them grow, and care for living things.
Can you spot all the play and learning areas?
Take a look at the picture of our Secret Garden. Can you see some of the things children can do here? This is only part of what the space offers, but it shows how every corner is a shining example of open-ended play.
Bug Hunt Every corner holds a surprise, and the garden has more to offer than first meets the eye. Keep reading to discover all nine play features hidden within it.
Parents often tell us they love how simple items such as big spoons, spades and old pans become the tools for imagination. These humble objects spark the richest play, whether in our garden or in yours.
Our staff bring specialist training to make this garden even more powerful. One of our room leaders is a Level 3 Forest School Leader, supporting resilience, risk-taking and nature connection. Another recently completed the Learning through Landscapes “Taking Literacy Outdoors for Early Years” course, which covered:
Storytelling, mark-making and early writing outdoors
Using natural resources to spark language and vocabulary
Promoting imaginative role play and conversations outside
Building confidence in speaking and listening through outdoor play
This expertise ensures the garden is more than a play space. It is a place where literacy, communication, physical development and personal confidence grow side by side.
Safety and year-round use
Parents often ask: Is it safe? Can children use it all year?
The Secret Garden has full CCTV coverage and floodlights for safe, supervised use in every season.
It complements our other outdoor spaces, giving children variety and choice in how they play and learn.
Foster creativity, collaboration and problem-solving
For children, it feels like magic. Muddy hands, bug hunts, balancing on logs, planting seeds and sharing stories in a teepee. For parents, it is reassurance that behind every adventure lies meaningful learning.
This approach links directly to our bespoke Early Learning and Development Programme (ELDP), which blends purposeful play with the EYFS. Parents can even try similar activities at home, in the park or in their garden:
Collect leaves, sticks or stones on a walk and use them for counting or storytelling.
Set up a mini mud kitchen with old pots and pans for pretend cooking.
Use magnifying glasses to look under stones or logs for mini-beasts.
At Banana Moon Bromley, we believe in real mud, real tools and real exploration. That is the secret behind our Secret Garden. 🌿
✨ The Big Reveal: 9 Ways to Play in the Secret Garden ✨
After all that build-up, here’s the full list of what children can discover in our Secret Garden:
1️⃣ Messy Mix Station – potions, pies and marvellous mixtures 2️⃣ Mud Kitchen – measuring, pouring and imaginative cooking 3️⃣ Discovery Den – a cosy nook for chats, friendships and role play 4️⃣ Explorer’s Box – binoculars, magnifying glasses and nature tools 5️⃣ Story Teepee – a hideaway for storytelling and drama 6️⃣ Wooden Bench – a perch for reflection, group time or sharing moments 7️⃣ Tyre Turntable – sometimes a planter, sometimes a target, always inventive 8️⃣ Bug Steps – balancing logs above and mini-beasts hiding below 9️⃣ Reel World Table – a wooden reel for building, storytelling or small-world play
We are confident you will appreciate our nursery, its setting and facilities. Should you wish to visit, we are available at any time to meet with you. Any comments or input from parents are always welcome.
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