Creating Serenity in Your Garden
At GreenArt we believe that a garden should be more than just a collection of plants and pathways – it should be a sanctuary. In today’s fast-paced world, finding a peaceful retreat can feel like a challenge. However, with thoughtful garden design and landscaping, you can create a space that not only pleases the eye, but nurtures the soul. This month, we have been focusing on the theme of serenity and here we share how sensory landscaping can transform your outdoor space into a haven of tranquillity.
What is Sensory Gardening?
Sensory gardening is the art of designing outdoor spaces that engage the five senses—sight, smell, sound, touch, and even taste—through the thoughtful selection and placement of both hard and soft landscaping elements. This approach can be incorporated into any garden, whether it’s a dedicated sensory garden or simply enhancing specific areas to heighten sensory experiences. The aim is to create a balanced, immersive environment that stimulates the senses, reduces stress and promotes a deep connection to nature.
What Goes Where?
Sensory gardening carefully considers the spatial layout of a garden, offering a balanced and enriching experience that caters to both the body and mind. The arrangement of elements within the garden should take visitors on a sensory journey, through defined areas that serve a distinct purpose yet seamlessly blend into each other to create a cohesive and immersive experience.
Strategically placing sensory elements ensures that each part of the garden stimulates the senses in a way that feels natural and harmonious.
Open spaces can be used to evoke a sense of freedom, allowing the mind to wander, whilst enclosed areas, such as a cozy seating nook surrounded by tall plants, can provide a feeling of safety and seclusion. Straight paths give a sense of purposeful direction while pathways that curve gently encourage a leisurely pace.
Using a variety of plant shapes, muted tones such as greens and purples and textures can help to create a visually calming atmosphere. Sweeping structures and fluid movement created by grasses, like Stipa tenuissima or Pennisetum alopecuroides are ideal for layering together to create a serene place in which to sit and rest.
Tuning In
Sound plays a pivotal role in any garden, enhancing the overall atmosphere and deepening the connection to nature.
The rustling of leaves in the wind the soft chirping of birds or the thrumming hum of visiting insects can all contribute naturally to a calming and serene environment. These natural sounds create a peaceful backdrop that encourages mindfulness and relaxation, helping to drown out the noise of daily life.
Other features can also be utilised—the gentle trickle of a water feature or wind chimes hung from trees or pergolas can add a melodic, almost ethereal quality to the garden. By integrating these auditory elements thoughtfully, a garden can become a sanctuary where sound is not just heard but felt, fostering a deeper sense of tranquillity and connection to the natural world.
What’s Sensory Gardening without Scents?
With their ability to evoke emotions, trigger memories and enhance the overall sense of well-being, scents are a very powerful tool in any garden. By selecting and placing aromatic plants at pivotal points, a garden can tap into this unique link between scent and memory, offering a space that feels both familiar and profoundly comforting.
‘Scent-sory’ gardening can be taken one step further by choosing specific plants to cultivate a desired effect. Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ and Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ can promote calmness and relaxation, whereas mint and rosemary can reduce stress and enhance memory quality—it’s a great way to subtly enrich the therapeutic atmosphere of a sensory garden.
Getting Hands-on in your Sensory Garden
By incorporating a variety of textures a garden can invite gentle exploration and foster a deeper connection with the natural world.
The rough bark of trees, the smoothness of polished stones, and the incredible variety of plant textures give tactile experiences that engage the body and soothe the mind. The soft, velvety leaves of Stacchys byzantina (Lamb’s ear), the waxy leather of Bergenia purpurascens and the delightful squidge of moss or a carpet of thyme between the toes all provide sensations to delight the senses.
Gardening itself is well known to promote and support mental and physical wellbeing. From the more complex jobs like growing your own produce to the more mundane like weeding, being hands on in the garden is the best way to expose you to its relaxing, mindful effects. Diving deeper and getting your hands into the soil itself can be just as good for you physically, as it is full of beneficial microbes!
A Tasty Addition
Using edibles in your garden, whether you’re growing your own produce or adding ornamental edibles, can be both a delicious and beautiful way to add another layer of sensory planting.
Plants like rhubarbs with their broad leaves and vibrant red stalks, architectural artichokes, or ornamental cabbages can add a delightful burst of colour and texture. Edible flowers like nasturtiums, calendulas and sunflowers, and woody herbs like rosemary and thyme are easy to grow and can be dotted in awkward gaps in the garden for a vibrant, aromatic filler. Annual herbs like basil, coriander, and dill are equally easy to grow and have a high yield for fairly little work.
There’s something uniquely fulfilling about cultivating and engaging with your garden in a way that brings both nourishment and joy and the satisfaction of that interaction can do wonders for the mind and soul.
Your Personal Oasis Awaits
More than anything, a sensory garden is a deeply personal place of rest and creating such a space is an art that requires thoughtful design and expert care. It takes time and good listening skills to understand what is comforting, peaceful and rejuvenating to each individual.
At GreenArt, we specialise in crafting gardens that not only enhance the beauty of your home but also provide a peaceful retreat from the outside world. Whether you’re interested in a complete garden redesign or need help enhancing your existing landscape, our team is here to help you create the serene sanctuary you deserve.
Contact us today to start your journey towards a more peaceful and beautiful garden.
