A garden should be more than just beautiful—it can be a place that awakens the senses and soothes the soul. What if your garden could engage all your senses and transform your outdoor experience?
What is a Sensory Garden?
Gardens can soothe and heal as well as inspire and invigorate us. Our senses allow us to experience these different emotions. By creating a sensory garden you can immerse yourself in your thoughts and feelings to improve your health and well-being.
Why Create a Sensory Garden?
- With therapeutic benefits, a sensory garden can reduce stress, improve mood, and stimulate memory.
- Can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities with accessible garden design features – for example raised beds and wide paths for wheelchair access.
- Inherent educational value for children to explore nature.
- Enhancing mindfulness by encouraging people to be present in the moment no matter what the time of year.
Designing for the All Senses (not just the usual 5!)
Sight
- Plants and materials in a garden offer a full spectrum of colour with the added benefit that they change throughout the year with different seasons.
- For visually impaired people, choose bold contrasting colours to make them stand out.
- Selecting different colour schemes to create an ambience to your outdoor space.
- Hot colours such as red, orange and yellow create energy and stimulate a space.
- Cool colours of blues, greens and whites are more calming.
- Light and shadow can also create interesting effects in a garden and make a visual impact.
Sound
- Sounds in a garden can be natural or activated by people. Both should be included in a sensory garden.
- Natural sounds include birds singing, movement of plants, leaves blowing in the wind or bees buzzing in flowers.
- People activated sounds include water features gently bubbling, wind chimes or musical instruments.
Touch
- Touch is probably the most important sense for exploring a garden. It’s only when we explore with our hands that we begin to appreciate the true nature of things.
- Gardens are full of different textures. The challenge is to design with a range of textures in mind for garden visitors.
- Add variety to your garden by thinking about textures of hard landscaping materials such as walls and paths as well as furniture.
- For planting make a list of different textures and research plants which will be tactile and match your list.
- Safe, touch-friendly plants are essential in a garden to be used by vulnerable people.
Smell
Although most attention is paid to scented plants, there are also many other garden materials which have distinctive smells – for example cut grass or autumn leaves.
Plants have different types of scent:
- Scents that fill the air and can be smelt without touching the plant e.g. mock orange, roses and winter honeysuckle.
- Intimate scents where the flowers need to be investigated e.g. violet, primrose, some daffodils.
- Activated scents which are released when plant parts are crushed e.g. most culinary herbs, scented geranium. Great herbs to try are mint, lemon thyme or curry plant.
- Evening-scented plants are lovely for enjoying your garden in the evening. E.g. Star Jasmine and Summer Phlox.
Taste
- Taste is a useful way of demonstrating the link between growing and eating.
- Edible flowers and herbs, fruit trees and bushes and vegetable patches can be included.
- For vulnerable groups such as children or the elderly it is important to ensure that non-toxic plants are included.
Orientation, gravity and balance
- Design elements of paths, such as path width, change in direction, creating slopes and layout enable you to meander through a garden.
Pattern and shape
- Patterns can provide fascinating effects in a sensory garden.
- Regular patterns can be provided by hard landscaping such as brick work in walls, paving and fencing.
- More complex patterns are found in natural materials such as tree bark, flowers and variegated leaves.
Movement
- Movement is useful for sparking and sustaining attention, especially if it is combined with sound.
- It can be stimulating or relaxing, depending on the source and setting.
- There are many ways of combining movement with sound, for example planting trees or ornamental grasses or having a water feature in your garden.
Cause and effect
- A range of practical garden features can be used to make your sensory garden interactive.
- For example installing a bug hotel or a bird feeder will enable you to interact with wildlife and learn about ecosystems.
Mood ambience
- Create areas in your garden which are designed to be quiet and relaxing. This will reduce the range of sensory stimuli and make a comfortable and calming environment.
- Think about making different types of space by using contrasts of shade and light, enclosure versus open space and sound and quiet areas to explore different moods.
Sensory Garden Design Tips
To design a great sensory garden, start by creating different zones for different moods. Use active areas with lots of sights, sounds, and smells to engage the senses, while calm spaces with cool colors can be more relaxing. It’s important to make your garden accessible to everyone by including wide paths, raised beds, and plenty of seating for comfort. Always choose safe, non-toxic plants, especially if children will be visiting. For a garden that lasts, select robust plants and materials that can handle curious hands. Finally, get creative! Plan for interest in all seasons by bringing in materials like bark chips or piles of leaves to create a stimulating space without having to go far.
How Gerbera Designs Creates Sensory Gardens
- Personal Consultation – Providing expert advice on creating a beautiful sensory garden tailored to your outdoor space.
- Complete Design Service – Layouts that flow and engage your senses at every turn
- Planting Design – Expert plant selection to give you a truly sensory experience for your garden in North East Scotland.
- Professional Installation – Helping you to bring your sensory garden to life in collaboration with local Aberdeenshire expert landscapers.
To see some of the sensory gardens we have created in Scotland, check out these projects in our portfolio – the Haddo House Sensory Garden Design & a Care Home Sensory Garden Design Project.
Ready to Create Your Sensory Sanctuary?
Let Gerbera Designs transform your garden into a sensory delight. Contact us for a consultation today!
This is what one of our clients had to say about a sensory garden we have worked on.
‘We have recently been supported by Joanne in completing a sensory garden for our school. Joanne provided guidance on what types of plants would be best for this area and arranged the collection and delivery of these. She came along to school and showed the children how to plant and care for this area. Her support and guidance were invaluable in allowing us to get this fantastic outdoor area completed for our school. Thank you from Alehousewells Primary School.’
