Creating A Healing Sensory Garden
As the weeks and months go by, we are still for the most part, working from and staying at home. A lot of time is spent gazing out the window! More clients have begun inquiring how to create what is known as a Sensory Garden. For singles on their own, or family members who are elderly or immune-compromised, it is especially vital to create a space outside for a change of scenery, meditation and joy.
The understanding that nature has a soothing, restorative effect on humans has been known throughout history. From medieval infirmaries to modern day spa retreats, it has been recognized that access to the outdoors and outdoor places for contemplation and exercise, have a healing effect on a person’s mental and physical health. Even the smallest area, can be transformed into a place that will delight the senses.
A healing garden should provide a multi-sensory experience. Plant shrubs and trees that will provide various textures and shades of green, flowers that attract butterflies, birds, usually those with vivid floral color to excite the eye. Add the sight and sound of water. Use decorative accents that come alive to the slightest breeze. Wind spinners and wind chimes do both and mesmerize the eye and ear. Grace Note Chimes, based in California, hand crafts and hand tunes their wind chimes. Their chimes truly add a magical element to your healing garden.
Tiger Eye Flower
If there is room, add trees, whether in containers or planted in the ground, trees that will rustle in the wind, such as bamboo or pines. A wonderful, colorful tree that can be grown happily in both containers and in a garden is the Tiger Eye Abutilon found here. This small tree adds so much with its vivid, multi-colored flowers and pleasing form!
Grasses too should be incorporated as they do not require much care but add feathery texture that come alive with movement in just the gentlest of breezes.
Include a forager corner where scented herbs can be crushed and smelled, One of the most important herb to grow for its health-giving properties is Sage. I am fortunate to be able to pick leaves off the wild white sage that grows on the hillsides here in the Santa Monica mountains. I use it to make a tea and mix it with a small teaspoon of Avocado honey.
Here are some of the benefits of White Sage. It is a definite must in this time of being extra careful about our health. Sage is an easily grown herb, and one I would be sure to include. I discovered an invaluable source for researching and identifying the best wild plants that are beneficial to our health, that we can find already growing in our gardens or in wild areas near our homes. It is called The Lost Book of Herbal Remedies and you can find it here.
A forager corner should also contain edible plants like wild strawberries, nasturtiums, cherry tomatoes, chives, basil, really anything that is easy to pop into your mouth and delight your taste buds.
The focal point of a sensory garden is a water feature. It doesn’t matter how elaborate or simple it is, incorporating the music of a burbling fountain fills the garden with a soothing and uplifting sound. Humans are naturally soothed by the sound of water. It is a primal connection to our very being.
Our Willow Fountain installed in a sensory garden in Charlestown, South Carolina
A healing sensory garden will stimulate your sight, your sense of smell, and is pleasing to both your ears and taste buds. Spending part of your day in your Healing Garden, will nourish your body and soul and provide a much-needed respite from all this time we are spending indoors! It is a creative endeavor and one that you will find immensely rewarding.