A garden space that encourages sensory engagement and contact with nature can inspire feelings of familiarity, comfort, positive distraction and safety. Simply put, we feel better when we're outdoors. Studies have shown that within minutes of immersing yourself in the garden, stress levels and blood pressure drop significantly.
The value of making a personal connection with nature has been a central theme in my work as garden manager of the Edgerton Hospital Healing Garden in southern Wisconsin. I designed this 3 hectare space alongside the construction of the hospital to support the personal wellbeing of patients, staff, visitors and the general public. Whether through beautiful views from the recovery rooms or a more active immersion through therapy activities, yoga, Tai Chi or family visits, the healing garden offers abundant opportunities for reflection and relaxation. And while this garden is larger than some home landscapes, it includes many features and ideas that can easily be adapted to smaller, more intimate settings.
Let layout and function provide a framework for your planning process
Before selecting plants, think about how you would like the experience of moving through the garden to feel. Paths with accessible surfaces will provide a gentle guide to the garden visitor, but where do they go? Make ease of getting in and out of the space a primary consideration and be sure to create some destinations and focal points in places that feel embraced by the garden.
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Walkways, decks and patios should be easy to safely navigate for all visitors. It incorporates resting places and reflection corners with comfortable seating options and beautiful views. If mobility challenges are considered, raised beds can be used to place plants at a more accessible height. Tasteful garden lighting will add nighttime and seasonal interest. When planning your garden features, think about the views from inside. Drawing up a concept sketch that considers where the focal points will be and how foot traffic will flow is a good exercise to assess how the space will function.
Shade provided by plants or structures enhances the appeal of any destination designed for rest, contemplation or congregation. People naturally gravitate to a shaded back porch, patio or sitting area, and garden structures such as arbors, gazebos or pavilions can provide protection from wind and rain. Place trees strategically to create shade within the garden or to prevent intense morning or afternoon sun from flooding through east- or west-facing windows.
An immersive experience involves all the senses
Visual beauty and delicious food are gifts from the garden that we often take for granted, but touch, smell and sound greatly enhance the time we spend outdoors. As your design evolves, think of ways to enrich the visitor's experience through each of the five senses.
For example, a timely progression of flower bulbs, woody plants, and perennials can be selected to provide seasonal fragrance from spring through fall. Place scented plants near walkways, windows and gathering areas to ensure maximum enjoyment. It includes plants with scents that are released by touch, flowers with fragrances that waft through the air, and plants that are more aromatic in the evening. In the hospital's healing garden, we label many scented plants with signage to encourage interaction. These include herbs of all kinds, scented geraniums (pelargonium cvs., zones 10–11), chocolate cosmos (Atrosanguineous cosmosZones 7-9) and fragrant roses (Dianthus spp. and cvs., zones 4-9).
You'll enhance the meditative qualities of any garden by mitigating distracting outside noises. Can you use screen or other landscape features to minimize sounds from neighbors or a nearby road? A well-placed and maintained water feature provides incredible auditory and tactile feedback, while the soothing music of moving water masks unwanted noise.
Most gardens are not designed with tactile engagement in mind, but making a wide range of plant materials available to visitors will greatly enhance the sensory experience. Raised containers can be used to place plants with tactile textures at a height accessible to everyone, including children and people who use wheelchairs.
Planting combinations in your garden will support the goal of restoration by providing beauty, sensory engagement and wildlife value. Keep seasonal interest in mind as you create spaces that evoke a sense of personal sanctuary. Plants that attract wildlife will also bring great energy and interest to your green and restorative design. Choose varieties suited to your site's unique growing conditions and combine them into an evolving tapestry that defines garden rooms.
Any landscape can become a haven of well-being, and each must be designed to meet the specific needs of the visitors who will spend time there. Combining an intentional design of circulation and rest areas with an immersive planting design can be the foundation for a restorative garden that offers a rich sensory experience.
Mark Dwyer is the garden manager of the Edgerton Hospital Healing Garden in Edgerton, Wisconsin. He is also a Midwest regional reporter and forum moderator at FineGardening.com.
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