Do you ever get down on your hands and knees to smell a flower? If you do, you're delightfully unusual (and limber!). To my delight, I chanced upon fragrant flowers at nose height.
If you’re immersed in winter weather, or just needing a nature break, take a moment to enjoy the sights and smells of a sunny Australian garden. Find out how visitors know which plants are fun to smell or touch.
Welcome to the Sensory Garden at the Urrbrae House Historic Precinct, University of Adelaide, South Australia. Let's go in!
What if you could choose to temporarily trade your ‘to do’ list and your busy thinking mind for fascination, playful curiosity, and a childlike sense of wonder?
On Monday we begin our shared online journey to noticing nearby nature for self-care. We’re going beyond vibrant sunsets and rainbows to finding wonder in everyday nature. Join us.
Legacy Health in Portland, Oregon is making therapeutic gardens a top priority for reducing staff stress and fatigue and for encouraging staff to take regular breaks in the garden near their unit. Legacy Health's interdisciplinary garden design process and their randomized controlled trials are leading the way for other hospitals.
Allow nature to captivate you and spark joy! Joy in Nature is a 2019 garden trend that captivated me. Read about several garden trends and garden design elements shared by Brian Minter and Karen Chapman in their talks at the 2018 CanWest Horticulture Show.
It was my first time facilitating a group for these supportive housing tenants and I had no idea whether or not they were interested in birds. Turns out that once asked, they were bursting to share their bird stories with me and their fellow tenants.
Concerned that you don’t know enough about your local birds to facilitate a therapeutic birding program? No worries. Enthusiasm and curiosity go much further than expertise when it comes to inspiring recreational nature engagement. Create space for your participants to share their stories and knowledge, and they will likely teach you a thing or three about your local birds.
I think of mammals sharing this watery world with me, moving sinuously through its depths and coming up for air; like the seal that turned my head yesterday with the sound of its breath. We looked at each other from our separate worlds of forested land and salty sea; so foreign to each other and yet closely related as mammals.
Alberta Children's Hospital has several therapeutic gardens where Julie Billo leads popular gardening programs for patients. The kids grow sunflowers and veggies, and make potato salad and ice cream. Julie says, "The kids don't know they're getting therapy".
Looking to engage your garden visitors with sensory plants? I've listed 56 of my favourites. These plants are specifically suited to raised planter gardens in Southwestern British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest, and other places with a similar temperate maritime climate.
When shopping at a garden centre, it’s easy to be seduced and overwhelmed by delectable eye candy. So here are a few guidelines for wisely choosing sensory plant varieties for raised planters. You’ll offer your garden visitors a wide range of sensory experiences, make the most of your money and time and avoid costly mistakes (aka invasive plants).
Leverage your time with these strategies, so that more people engage with your garden and experience nature's benefits. Create opportunities, get the word out, and involve people in a variety of ways. Which strategies will you add to your garden program?