What is a Sensory Garden? Discover 3 Benefits You Should Know

Get grounded with a garden that engages all five senses. The benefits of a sensory garden are endless — it’s the perfect place to relax after a long day, learn more about nature, and create a safe place for people of different abilities and ages to explore.

What’s the difference between a regular garden and a sensory garden? Any outdoor space has components that provide a sensory experience, but a sensory garden is intentionally designed with elements that bring all five senses to the forefront in creative, delightful ways.

Sensory gardens include both hardscaping (nonliving features like benches) and softscaping (living features like flowers) to create an immersive experience.

Perfect place for socializing?

What could be a better setting for a dinner party than a sensory paradise? If you’re someone who regularly has friends and family over, a sensory garden will take your gatherings to the next level. Having a homegrown dinner or butterfly show in the background will make your party memorable.

Bolsters mental health?

It turns out that a breath of fresh air is even better for us than we might have thought. Being outdoors can improve our mood, performance, and overall cognitive function. A study in 2019 found that people who listened to nature sounds performed significantly better on cognitive tests than people who listened to an urban setting soundtrack.

Not only does a sensory garden benefit your health by encouraging you to be outside, it also helps you by encouraging you to live in the present. Intentional periods of mindfulness (like sitting on a bench actively tuning into your senses) have profound effects on our ability to learn, recover from injury and sickness, and strengthen creativity and memory.?

Supports physical health

An outdoor space that encourages you to spend time in nature benefits your whole body. Enjoying your sensory garden in a sunny spot is a great way to get vitamin D which supports immune health and can help regulate mood. Plus, planting tasty vegetables and fruits boosts your overall vitamin intake.

When you take care of your garden, you’re taking care of yourself, too. Gardening is a form of light aerobic exercise which helps improve your heart and lung health and prevent high blood pressure and diabetes.

If that doesn’t convince you, gardening also helps you get a better night of sleep. Getting outside in the morning helps regulate your circadian rhythm, and lower cortisol levels means fewer midnight wakeups.

To learn more about our Sensory Garden and plant-related therapy services like Plantology, contact us here.