How to Make a Sensory Garden—the Landscaping Trend That Engages All 5 Senses

A garden is so much more than something beautiful to look at. The plants you grow in it can be used for nourishment, to attract essential pollinators, fill the landscape with fragrance, and so much more. When thoughtfully designed, your garden can even appeal all five senses—a practice referred to as a sensory garden. This growing trend allows you to better connect with nature, as well as create a space designed to promote mindfulness and reduce stress. Even better? Thinking about how to engage your senses in the garden will help diversify your plant selection, so you can add more interest to your yard across all four seasons.

What Is a Sensory Garden?

Sensory gardens are meant to stimulate all five senses: sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste. "Design elements include the use of patterns, shapes, movement, good visual contrast, and contrast in color," says Linda Langelo, horticulture specialist at Colorado State University. While many of the senses can be stimulated through plants, sensory gardens also often play with non-natural materials, like water features and hardscapes.

Benefits

Beyond how beautiful sensory gardens are, there are a handful of benefits that come from creating a space that engages the senses.

Accessibility

By designing a garden that stimulates the different senses, you help create an accessible space that can be enjoyed by everyone. "Equally, people with disabilities can benefit from a range of sensory opportunities," says Rebecca Lane, arboretum supervisor at Kew Gardens. "Visually impaired people, for example, can explore through touch, smell, and sound." While people who are hearing impaired can enjoy the space through touch, smell, and taste.

Mindfulness

The elements of a sensory garden can also help people practice the principles of mindfulness. "The sense of touch sends a signal to the brain and nervous system, and we focus on feeling," says Langelo. "We start feeling in the present. We focus on a particular plant and that becomes our world at present. This is mindfulness. It is a state of being present."

Stress Relief

Engaging with a sensory garden is also helpful for people who experience stress and anxiety. "In helping to awaken all five senses, these gardens reduce stress and anxiety for any individual and allow the individual to focus more clearly on their environment, which is the sacred space within the garden," says Langelo.

Choosing Plants for a Sensory Garden

From brightly colored flowers to edible plants, there are many ways to evoke the senses in your garden. Here are some suggestions.

Sight

Sight is one of the easiest senses to stimulate in a garden. To do so, choose plants in contrasting colors that provide interest across all four seasons. Colorful wildflowers are a great option for sensory gardens because they attract pollinators, like bees and butterfly, which add movement and an additional visual dimension to your garden, says Lane.

Stimulate your sense of sight even further by playing with structure. "A variety of architecture, height, shape, hues, and patterns can be created with different species of trees, shrubs, and other plants," says Lane.

• False Indigo
• Butterfly weed
• Cockscomb
• Zinnias
• Coneflower
• Sneezeweed

Smell

There are so many plants that can add fragrance to the garden. "When creating a sensory garden, scents for all the seasons are a must," says Lane. "Mediterranean herbs provide scent year-round as you brush past them, so I’d recommend planting them close to path edges. Winter flowering shrubs provide some of the most astonishing scents in terms of purity and strength when they are in flower, so a sensory garden for the winter months will never fail to impress."

• Lavender
• Sage
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Honeysuckle
• Anise Hyssop
• Hyacinths
• Catmint

Sound

Ornamental grasses are a wonderful way to introduce gentle sounds in a sensory garden. When the wind moves the grass it creates a soothing rustling and adds visual movement to the garden. Other plants that create gentle noises are annuals with hard seed capsules, which create small rattles, says Lane. "For a larger garden, bamboos can provide a whole variety of noises depending on the strength of the wind, though it’s important you choose the right cultivar or species of bamboo as it can be invasive and take over the garden," she says.

• Northern Sea Oats Grass
• Switchgrass
• Balloon Flowers
• Pigsqueak
• Eucalyptus
• Cattails
• False Indigo
• Bamboo
• Poppies

Touch

Include plants with different textures, such as soft flowers, fuzzy leaves, or rough bark, says Laura Walsh, director of marketing for Oasis Forage Products. "Ground cover options such as moss or creeping thyme can provide a soft underfoot sensation," she says. "Large, smooth-leaved hostas or poppies with delicate, silky petals are also excellent choices. Additionally, some crape myrtle varieties have smooth bark, while others feature a textured surface."

• Moss
• Creeping thyme
• Lamb's Ear
• Hostas
• Poppies
• Crape Myrtle
• Pussy Willow
• Fountain Grass
• Paperbark Maple
• River Birch

Taste

Engage the sense of taste by including edible plants such as herbs, edible flowers, vegetables, berries, or citrus trees, says Walsh. There are many ways to incorporate taste in your sensory garden, no matter its size. "You might have a designated vegetable patch or perhaps have space on your balcony to grow herbs and vegetables," says Lane. "Many of the most commonly-known edible flowers also come from herbs, such as lavender, sage, and chamomile."

• Chives
• Nasturtium
• Lavender
• Sage
• Apples
• Strawberries
• Tomatoes
• Peppers
• Melons
• Cucumbers
• Carrots
  

Other Elements to Add

In addition to plants, there are a few other elements you can add to your sensory garden to evoke the senses.

Pathways

Pathways are a key feature in sensory gardens. "The pathways are usually intentional routes that allow individuals to explore and interact with all the garden elements, engaging their senses of sight, touch, sound, and smell," says Walsh. When creating a pathway, try adding different textures, patterns, shapes, and colors to add to the sensory experiences.

So long as it's safe and comfortable to travel down, pathways can feature wood chips, sand, flagstone, steppingstones, or concrete, says Langelo. Gravel is a common material used as it creates a crunching sound, while brick is a smart way to add extra color.

Water Feature

Create soothing sounds in your sensory garden by adding a water feature, like a fountain or a bird bath. "The sound of water can create either a gentle tranquil calm, or a joyful or even raucous cacophony," says Lane.

Sculptures

Use your sensory garden to show off artwork by adding sculptures to your landscape. "Sculptures or statues can serve as a visually appealing art and add a tactile dimension to the garden," says Wash.

Birdhouses

Birds add visual interest to the garden, as well as create a range of pleasant sounds. "Birdhouses and bird feeders can be included to attract birds. The sight and sound of birds, along with their presence, contribute to the overall sensory richness of the garden," says Walsh.