Creating a Sensory Garden
We visited a very kid friendly nature preserve today with a lovely garden. The gardeners there were in the middle of planting a sensory garden, as a nice addition to their main garden. A sensory garden should have plants that stimulate each of the five senses: smell, taste, sight, sound and touch. Sensory gardens are wonderful for children to help them learn about the five senses.
Sight is easy in a garden…
So is smell. They were planting mint…
Taste is pretty easy too. They were planting blueberry bushes…
The sense of touch is pretty easy too. You need to have safe plants to touch near the pathway. Different textured leaves work nicely. I noticed they were planting some ornamental grasses…
Now sound in a garden I find interesting. They were planting something called Clethra Hummingbird. The gardener I spoke to said it makes a crackling noise in the Fall.
Even if you don’t plant a full sensory garden, you can use these ideas in your garden, around your yard or on your balcony if you’re in an apartment, even on a windowsill. It’s just another way to be creative in your life and think of things another way!
Check out Sensory Garden for Kids for more on building a sensory garden with children and Sensory Gardens which talks about other reasons to create a sensory garden (i.e. for healing, socializing, etc.)
Enjoy your gardening experience with all your senses!
Mama Lisa
June 28th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Most herbs are great for the sensory garden: Mint is tasty as well as strongly scented, oregano is kinda fuzzy and tasty, basil is my catnip, and sage is velvety and scenty. Sage has beautiful purple flowers, too. I think that Columbine pops its tiny seeds out if you listen carefully. Doesn’t the money plant whisper in the wind? Ornamental grasses do, too (Japanese blood grass is one of the shorter, manageable ones.)
June 30th, 2009 at 6:07 pm
I planted some herbs in containers on my deck today (including mint), basil and parsley. Then I got rosemary and thyme to plant in the ground. We’ll see how they do!
I don’t think I have enough sunny spots for ornamental grasses. Does anyone know of any that work in the shade?