Thanks to Tracey Hunter for inspiring me to create a list of sensory plants for raised planters! Tracey is the Recreation Manager at Berwick on the Lake Retirement Community in Nanaimo, BC. Here's her email:
I created a list for Tracey (and for you): 56 of my favourite plants for encouraging sensory engagement, and six natural features that I recommend including in your sensory garden.
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. I’ve excluded plants that would overwhelm raised planters with their size or their spreading growth habit.
If you print the sensory plant list to take with you when plant shopping, set your printer to landscape orientation rather than portrait.
Each sensory plant may come in several varieties, and there are many other sensory plants besides the ones on my list, so I wrote up some guidelines to help you choose sensory plant varieties when shopping at a garden centre or nursery.
VegTrugs™ (which Tracey mentioned) are designed to enable accessible gardening while standing or sitting. The slanted sides provide room for knees and feet. And because they raise the soil up, they bring sensory plants closer to nose and fingers (so important to everyone's enjoyment!).
Of course, VegTrugs™ are not the only raised planters available, but these days, they are widely available and more affordable than before.
May your plants delight the senses!
Innovative healthcare organizations are offering garden and nature programming to reduce employee stress and burnout.
Five types of nature-based programming are described here, with examples from three countries.
Is winter a snowy wonderland to enjoy? Or a miserable slog in the cold and dark? What if I told you that how we think about winter makes a difference in how we feel? A surprising bit of research could thaw our frozen winter mindsets, improve our mental health and enhance our sense of wellbeing.