By Sara QuamThe Rock County Master Gardeners are still working on the healing garden project that will be at the new Sioux Valley Luverne Medical Center.Master Gardener Lynette Jauert reported to the Rock County Commissioners that the project will be paid for mostly by grants.The county was interested in the progress for information only. There was no request from the Master Gardeners.The project looks to be coming in under the budget of about $138,000 and many grants are coming in or are in the works.Jauert said the project couldn’t be as well-planned or designed without Molly Furgeson, a master’s of agriculture in horticulture student at the University of Minnesota.With Furgeson, Jauert said the healing garden has the benefit of additional professors from the U of M working on fine-tuning the design.Jauert said the garden will be a place to stimulate senses of touch, smell and sight for people who visit it. She hopes it is a place for the staff to have lunch and for people staying at the hospital to get a breath of fresh air or a beautiful view. Inpatient rooms, rehab and the maternity ward all face the garden, yet people inside it won’t feel like they are being seen because of the design. By definition, a healing garden means the horticulturist designed it to work with or around people’s abilities or limitations. The garden is meant for people to use to reduce stress and aid the healing process.It is designed with little "getaways" where patients or visitors will have space to reflect or get privacy. The furniture will be light enough, however, so people can move it to cluster for conversation or gatherings.The benches will have arms, making them easier for the weak to rise from a seated position.Walkways are wide enough for two wheelchairs to meet. The list of features includes everything from plants that will be attractive yearlong to elements that will attract birds.The use of Sioux quartzite is key, Jauert said."Molly grew up spending time at Blue Mounds State Park and wanted to capture that," Jauert said.The design will have a local, prairie feel that will include some decorative native grasses. However, Jauert said it was taken into consideration that some local patients would cringe at the sight of "native plants" that they consider noxious weeds.She said some early plantings will be blooming soon, and dirt work and electrical and plumbing will start this spring.