A GUIDE TOdesigning a

SENSORY GARDEN

by gardens galore

Sensory gardens are designed to stimulate a multitude of senses and facilitate the mental and physical recovery of those that use it. Sensory gardens can provide a rich and exciting experience and have been known to provide a variety of significant positive benefits. These gardens are ideal for care homes, nursing homes and in our own gardens, community centres, nurseries, schools and development centres. Gardens Galore are proud to offer our sensory garden designing service and hope to aid the process by introducing this exclusive guide.

CONTENTS

SENSORYGARDEN

The senses of aSound

Sound in a sensory garden can be both exciting and calming and is especially important for visitors who are visually impaired. All our senses are prevalently linked to memory but sound can often be very enlightening for visitors with mental disabilities and memory-loss conditions. Expressive therapies are commonly used to improve the mental, physical and emotional health of those undertaking the therapy and music theory is used in a number of different areas of healthcare. It has proven particularly successful for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia and for this reason, it is important to include some form of sound stimulus in a sensory garden.

Wind chimes can be bought or constructed manually to get an added rustic feel. They can be made using a variety of materials which will all produce slightly different tones and sounds. Wooden tubes, rods and bells are materials frequently used to make wind chimes for use in an outdoor garden. Wind

chimes are best placed in a small secluded area of the garden away from the property, where they will respond to the wind without disturbing the rest of the garden. This could also be a great place for a seating area, where the garden visitors can sit in peace and listen to the music created by the wind chimes and the rustling of the garden.

Water features are an attractive element in any garden but can be particularly useful in sensory gardens as they satisfy a multitude of senses; garden users can touch and feel the flow of the water, watch as the water trickles down the fountain and most importantly, listen to the calming sound of the running water. Contrary to popular belief, water features don’t have to be costly to be effective; there are inexpensive and DIY options available - see our DIY section for a beautiful and economical water feature idea.

Water Features

Water features can beautifully transform any garden and are a delight for all the senses, but particularly sound. Garden water features can be small and subtle or big and dramatic and can cater to all needs and budgets.

Wind Chimes

Wind chimes can be constructed using various materials including bamboo, glass, stoneware or bells. Different materials produce slightly different sounds and tones. Wind chimes should be placed in a secluded area of the garden where they can be enjoyed without disturbing anyone.

SOUND

Mexican Feather Grass

This adaptable, year-round grass has beautiful narrow panicles and thread-like leaves which arch high above the ground. The grass produces a relaxing rustling sound when met with the wind and is extremely pleasant to listen to. It is also evergreen, deciduous and easy to maintain - so perfect for a low maintenance sensory garden.

Solar Water Features

Solar water features are an economical and environmentally friendly way to incorporate sound into your sensory garden. Solar water features can provide you with the benefits of a beautiful water feature without the hassle of wires or the usage of your precious electricity. Solar powered water features can be placed anywhere in the garden that has access to sunlight so are versatile enough to cater to most wants and needs, from Buddha fountains to traditional Riviera tiered water features – all producing a different texture of sound to please the ears.

Nassella tenuissima

Sight

Sight is a very important sense to consider when designing any garden, but especially a sensory garden as sight is such a powerful sense. Anything used to stimulate the other four senses should automatically accommodate sight. The easiest way to entertain sight in a sensory garden is to incorporate colour.

Therefore, when we are choosing features for a sensory garden we should be constantly thinking of how it will look and what colour it should be. If you want to integrate a raised concrete flowerbed into your garden, perhaps think about painting it a bright, bold colour to bring some vibrancy to the garden.

When it comes to pleasing this sense with flowers and plants, it’s pretty easy as all plants and flowers, no matter how simple or extravagant, have their own individual look and presence. Lily of the Valley is a native flower to Britain that grows easily on most

soil types. It’s an elegant and classic flower which blooms beautifully throughout spring and summer. Another flower planted for its physical charm is Jacob’s ladder (real name -Polemonium caeruleum). It produces bell-shaped blue/purple flowers in early summer and adapts well to most weather and soil conditions.

If you think you’ll have enough plants and flowers filling up the other senses you could look at including something a little more abstract to support sight, perhaps a wall mural or sculpture. This is great for sensory gardens, specifically for nursing homes or care centres as it’s an effective way to get patients involved in the process of designing the garden. It could incorporate their hobbies, passions, desires and memories and spark thought and interest for any and all garden visitors.

Taste is often dismissed as a lesser important sense when thinking about a sensory garden. Taste is in fact extremely important, especially for those whose sight and sound senses are disabled. Taste is also very much linked to memories and people often become nostalgic or curious when they’ve tasted something new or exciting. For that reason we encourage you to include items that tantalise the taste buds in your garden. Edible flowers are a simple and effective way to bring beauty and functionality into your garden.

Lavender is what is known as a ‘super flower’ as it pleases a multitude of senses; it has an unforgettable scent and appearance that is recognisable anywhere and makes it easily identifiable. Lavenders have an irresistibly sweet, floral yet citrusy flavour and can be used as garnishes and in sorbets.

Sage isn’t thought of as a particularly attractive plant but sage flowers are much more interesting than people might expect. They’re subtle and very palatable, perfect for picking and garnishing on salads. Sage flowers are frequently liked or preferred over the leaves, usually because the leaves can sometimes be quite bitter whereas the flowers can be a little mellower. Thyme, chive and oregano flowers are also milder versions of their herb sisters.

A fruit and vegetable nursery is also worth considering in a sensory garden. Crops can be planted and grown over the colder months then harvested and enjoyed over the warmer months. This can be a valuable way to encourage garden users to take responsibility and ownership for the maintenance of the garden.

Taste

Jacob’s ladder is another popular garden plant because of how easy it is to grow and maintain. The plant has dark green foliage and produces purple-blue flowers all through spring and summer.

Lily of the Valley (real name Convallaria majalis) is a popular garden plant because of its timeless and delicately scented flower and elegant white bell flowers. Once it is thriving it requires little maintenance and is perfect for woodland gardens.

This plant has an unforgettable scent and taste known all around the world. The plant actually forms part of the mint family and is widely used as a garnish and to flavour desserts. The flower is harmless to eat and can be harvested year round to add colour to your meals.

Chive is the smallest plant of the edible onion family and is commonly used as a herb in home cooking. Chives produce elusive little flowers which are also edible, both the stems and flowers can be tasted and cooked with and will produce a slightly different taste.

Jacob’s LadderLily of the Valley

Sight

Lavender Chives

Taste

Convallaria majalis Lavandula Allium schoenoprasum Polemonium caeruleum

Textured plants are a beautiful way to incorporate touch into your sensory garden and can ignite the senses in the simplest of ways. Here are a collection of our favourite textured plants for your sensory garden.

The Eryngium (Sea Holly) Big Blue is a happy and vibrant flowering plant that is admired for its striking appearance and interesting textures. It is often likened in appearance to the Scottish thistle although its foliage is much gentler to touch so it is often preferred. It has spiky and furry flowers which are mild enough for children to scrunch and touch.

Lamb’s Ear is a fashionable plant amongst gardeners for being a friendly and textured perennial. This plant covers the ground and has gentle, fluffy foliage; it flowers in the summer and despite its deceivingly mild appearance its flower is quite stunning. This plant is also popular as it’s easy to maintain, the furry film that coats the leaves protect and moisture the plant from the drier period of the year.

Outside of the plant world there are a variety of other ways to incorporate texture into a sensory garden. Entwined willow and speckled concrete can be used as structural walls and touch pads with different textures can be a lovely addition for gardens designed for inquisitive children!

Touch

Smell

The scent of a well maintained garden is wonderful and can be enjoyed year-round, but most people don’t know that the smell serves a very important purpose; attracting insects and deterring pests. There is an unlimited choice of scented flowers and plants for your sensory garden, the difficulty here is choosing.

The Syringa vulgaris is commonly known as the Lilac and is produced in numerous variants. It has been growing in the UK since its introduction from the mountains of South-Eastern Europe in the sixteenth century. It is a flower praised for its consistency and readiness. Our favourite variation of the flower produces lavender-purple flowers and has a wonderful yet traditional clean floral scent.

Chocolate Cosmos (real name – Cosmos astrosanguineus) give off an irresistible scent, yes you guessed it – Chocolate Cosmos smell of chocolate, and vanilla. The scent is bound to be a hit, especially with children. Its dusty red flower can add a rustic feel to your garden bed too but be aware; these flowers require a hefty amount of love and attention in order for them to flower.

The Stargazer Lily is a hybrid flower included in a group of oriental lilies and is best known for its intoxicating scent and remarkable flower. It’s one of the most popular types of lilies and is frequently used in flower bouquets, but also makes a wonderful garden plant. It gets its name because it blooms towards the sky and has sparkling star-like red, yellow and pink petals.

Lamb’s EarBig Blue

Big Blue is a year-round, large blue flowering plant which has bright blue stems and spiky (yet gentle) flowers and foliage. It is considered to be a hardy plant which deals with drought very well and is adaptable in most areas of a garden. It is often likened to the Scottish thistle but is gentler to touch, so is a great alternative.

touch

Honeysuckle Sweet Pea

smell

This ground covering perennial gets its name from having soft, white fluff-covered foliage which can be likened to a lamb’s ear. This plant is popularly planted in gardens for children who particularly enjoy the soft touch of the foliage.

This heavily perfumed flower is a favourite in the gardening world. They are particularly versatile; climbing honeysuckle can be used to cover pergolas or to climb entwined willow and shrubby honeysuckle can be used in raised planters or even flowerbeds.

This is possibly one of the most popular annual flowers in the planting world. Sweet peas have a delicate yet highly persuasive scent that combines beautifully with most other garden smells.

Eryngium Zabelii Stachys byzantine Lonicera Lathyrus odoratus

Gardens Galore has had the pleasure of working on a number of sensory gardens projects across Scotland; each project has been equally unique and individual. We’ve chosen to highlight this particular project as it brings together a variety of different elements that you’d expect to see in a sensory garden.

This sensory garden project was designed for the residents and their family and friends of the Braehill Lodge Nursing Home in Carnoustie. This particular nursing home caters for residents with dementia and sensory impairments. We spent a significant amount of time consulting with the nursing home owner and the home’s residents to ensure that each individual’s needs were met. We decided on a practical, user friendly design that could be enjoyed individually as well as communally.

The garden provides a sensory-rich experience through a range of different elements. The unusual water feature provides a focal point for the garden and the softening sound of running water instils tranquillity and calmness. The garden encapsulates sight and smell through the planting of year-round flowers – alpines for spring, lilacs for summer, auburn trees for autumn and pampas grass for the colder months, as chosen by the nursing home residents. The residents noses can be satisfied by the flurry of scented flowers planted throughout the flowerbeds – roses, lavender and honeysuckle merge together to create a sweet yet subtle year-round smelling experience. These combine together to create splashes of coordinated colour throughout the garden to blend in beautifully with the timber pergolas and curved walls of the raised planters.

The result is a wonderfully balanced sensory garden which provides an exciting experience through the senses. It brings the residents and their family and friends new positive experiences and encourages them as a community to think, feel and express themselves in new ways.

”A water feature stimulates a multitude of senses and brings an additional element to the garden.”

SPOTLIGHTIN THE

”Quiet areas for residents to sit in peace or share a quiet moment with their friends and family.”

”Plants and flowers that inject colour and vibrancy to the garden.”

”Low level planters designed to encourage the residents to join in”

A water feature can completely transform any garden from something ordinary, to something extraordinary. Different types of water features can provide different sounds and tones, from exciting to soothing. Garden water features are a fantastic way to naturally attract wildlife, particularly birds. Water features don’t have to be a summertime attraction; in the colder months when the water freezes, the water feature turns into an attractive ice sculpture – quite clever really! Water features are conventionally thought to cost a large amount of money, but with a little creativity we can produce a simple but equally effective ‘do it yourself’ water feature for your sensory garden.

And there you have it! Your own ‘do it yourself’ water feature for your sensory garden. Whether you’re looking for a dramatic waterfall or a simple and understated pond, Gardens Galore have a variety of garden water features to suit all your specific needs. If you have something in mind, we can help you bring your idea to life and add the element of water to your garden.

• Large porcelain pot such as an oversized urn, suitable for outdoor use.

• Two bricks slightly taller thatn the pump.

• Rubber basin, large enough to hold the pot with space around it.

• Small water pump that can transfer around 30 gallons of water per hour.

• 1/2 inch copper piping. • Polished river stones.• Water proofing sealant. • Gardening equipment.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

1. Cut a circular hole in the base of the pot you’ve chosen, ensure the hole is large enough to pass through the copper pipe.

4. Fill the basin with water until the pump is completely covered.

2. Dig a hole in the soil large enough for your rubber basin, use the water proofing sealant to secure the area outside and inside the basin.

3. Insert the water pump into the basin, place the concrete bricks on either side and thereafter safely secure the pot on top of the bricks.

5. To hide the flooring of the basin, the water pump and the concrete bricks, decorate with the polished river stones.

8. The water should overflow out of the pot and into the basin. If water is overflowing out of the basin you’ll need to do one of two things – either turn the water pressure down on your water pump or empty a small amount of water from the basin.

6. Place the copper pipe into the pot and size it so that it is slightly shorter than the pot, connect the pipe to the pump, use the waterproof sealant if you need it.

7. Completely fill the pot with water until it starts to overflow, and then turn on the pump.

INSTRUCTIONS

DO ITYOURSELF

Simply give us a call if you would like to talk about our water features.

WHAT WE NEEDFROM YOU

• Your preferred budget

• Your preferred timescale

• Maintenance level (low, medium or high)

• Overview of how the facility will be used

• Overview of garden users needs or disabilities (including allergies and themes or items to avoid)

• Personality traits, interests, hobbies, passions, likes, dislikes of all those who will be enjoying the garden (including members of staff)

• Accessibility – does the garden need to be wheelchair friendly or accessible for visually impaired residents

• Would you like to focus on a particular sense?

to create your sensory garden

THE NEXTSTEPS

It is important to consider that there are items that should be avoided when developing a sensory garden. The planning process of deciding what should and what should not be considered is dependent on those who will be utilising the garden. The below items should be avoided in most cases.

• Avoid planting flowers and plants with thorns or berries that are poisonous to eat as these could potentially injure garden users.

• If seating areas are being designed for the garden, ensure that there is a balance of areas that are shaded and in the sun.

• Consider allergies; avoid flowers that are heavily pollinated for those with pollen allergies and avoid flowers that attract bees if necessary.

• Ensure that paving and pathways are not a tripping hazard. Cobbles, pebbles and gravel should be avoided if garden users are unsteady on their feet or wheelchair bound.

• Avoid a cluttered, overplanted garden – leave enough space for garden users to safely navigate through the garden.

• The most important step is to get in touch with us for an initial chat about your sensory garden project. If you’re not sure about what services you need, don’t worry we’re here to help take you through the process! Remember, we cover Perthshire, Edinburgh, Glasgow and the whole of Central Scotland.

• Have a look through our previous garden projects for inspiration and garden design ideas. Our Braehill Lodge Nursing Home and Bridge of Earn Care Home projects are both sensory gardens.

• Have a think about what we’ll need from you – think budgets, timelines, garden requirements and so on.

• Finally, get excited! This is a fantastic opportunity to design a beautiful and functional sensory garden, an experience to be enjoyed.

Sensory gardens can have a huge positive physical, mental and spiritual impact on those that use it. Sensory gardens can enlighten and renew the senses and can often provoke positive emotions and memories. These gardens also enhance each sense so for those whose senses are impaired and the garden can provide unreserved enjoyment.

What are the benefits of a sensory garden?

What should you consider when designing a sensory garden?

The most important thing you should consider when you’re designing a sensory garden is your audience and making sure that each individuals specific needs are met. Secondly, it’s important to provide inclusive stimulation for a multitude of senses beyond the gardens static visual appeal. Finally it’s worth considering the usage of the garden, how often will it be attended to and what level of maintenance is preferred? The garden’s features, plants and structures can be chosen accordingly.

What should be avoided in a sensory garden?

FREQUENTLYasked

QUESTIONS

Simply give us a call if you would like to discuss our sensory garden design service.