How To Create a Sensory Garden

When first walking into a plant nursery or greenhouse, most of us likely gravitate towards the plant that “looks the best” without even thinking about it. For a sensory garden, choose a broad variety of plants that bloom at different times of the year. And don’t limit yourself solely to flowers! Foliage, bark, berries, and seedpods bring tons of year-round visual and textural interest.

What kind of mood would you like to evoke? Punchy neon and primary hues like reds, oranges, and yellows, bring cheery, upbeat energy. Want your garden to be a tranquil place of peace? Greens, blues, and pale purples create a calming experience.

We may not think of plants as “noisy” but pause and listen next time you are out in the garden; you’ll hear nature interacting with your plants in plenty of ways. A breeze rustles grasses and rattles seedpods. Rain patters on tree leaves. Insects hum between plants and squirrels chatter from branches.

You can help amplify natural sounds in your sensory garden: encourage wildlife to pass through your garden by planting a diversity of native plants and setting up a birdbath or feeder. Wind chimes and water features are also soothing additions to the garden.

Gardening is tactile, and a sensory garden is meant to be handled. Choose plants that can cope. This is not a place to showcase your delicate and rare specimen plants; garden visitors should feel at ease picking and poking all plant parts. Include fuzzy leaves, silky flowers, smooth seedpods, and squishy fruits. Inorganic materials like sand, stone, metal, and brick also bring interesting textures — add these materials to the garden via hardscapes like fountains, benches, and walls.

One point to consider? You may want to steer clear of breakables, like glass, and sharp plants like cacti, thistles, and roses.

We know now that scent and memory are inextricably linked — furthermore, studies have shown that scents associated with positive memories can help lower stress. Garden scents can range from earthy (fresh mulch, wet leaves) to savory (thyme, tomato) to floral (sweet pea, heliotrope) to fresh (mint, geranium). Some plants like lilac and honeysuckle release their aroma into the air continuously when in bloom. Other plants are more conspicuous and require you to pinch leaves to get a hint of scent; this also encourages visitors to touch and interact with plants. Herbs pack a one-two punch of being both deliciously scented AND flavorful; they make excellent additions to sensory gardens, both indoors and out.

This one is a no-brainer. Plant a few things that can be consumed right off the plant with minimal prep — think tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, or snap peas. If you have the space, fruit trees, including apple, plum, orange, and pear, make beautiful additions to the sensory garden. Designing a garden for the patio or balcony? Compact varieties of traditionally sprawling veggies, like cucumbers, and even trees, like citrus, can be grown easily in containers. Above all, plant what you love to eat.