Sensory gardens for health & well-being

My research into health & well-being shows sensory gardens to be a cost effective alternative treatment to traditional drug-based programmes for a variety of health concerns. Working with the Centre for Sustainability and Public Health in 2012 will allow further research in this important area.

We need to find a way to create sustainable, healthy, happy communities, that do not (literally and figuratively) cost the Earth. Well designed landscapes look to be able to provide the way forward.

May I wish you a very happy, healthy Holiday Season wherever you are. We will be celebrating Christmas with family, spending time in the garden and out in Nature. Remember, there is no such thing as bad weather, just poor clothing. Enjoy!

Sensory gardens for disabled children & their families

I was recently contacted by the mother of a young boy. He is 12 years old, wheelchair bound and gaining weight. His specialist advised the family to get a spa pool at home where he could do daily hydrotherapy.

A spa pool for hydrotherapy could be just that or it could become part of a wider opportunity to engage the senses. Water, especially when it is warm, has a relaxing quality we know from the childhood bathtime-before-bed routine. When we are realxed we feel more sociable, more creative and are more likely to open our other senses.

A spa pool may have been all the doctor prescribed but how much better if the occupational therapist, psychologist and others in the team had got together? If a spa pool can help mobility and combat weight gain, a deck around a pool can provide somewhere for friends and family to gather, to share jokes, to watch the clouds. When the deck's edges are planted with wildlife-friendly scented flowers and fruits, a fresh, tasty morsel can be added to the experience of hydrotherapy. When that deck is connected to a creative route through the garden, under light-blocking planting and out into bright sunshine, past rustling grasses and tinkling windchimes, the sensory garden is starting to fulfil its true potential.

The requirements of a disabled family member will necessarily take precedence in the design of a space. If you look to the wider needs of the family however, you can create something really special, an inclusive space that nutures the whole family. A sensory garden, well designed, will do just that. Greenstone Design UK are experts in creating sensory gardens for disabled children and their families.

Promoting wellness through sensory gardens

As I sit in my office/design studio, surrounded by technology, I know that my health (mental and physical) relies on the view outside the window - the bio-diverse mix of birds and trees and microrganisms that contain many natural 'chemcial cures' but also offer their intrinsic healing beauty. Commoditizing a green cure is difficult, which I suspect is why no one is doing it.

Leading researchers around the world have found and proven the link between health and a well designed natural environment.

The WHO has stated that depression will be the 2nd biggest cause of ill health globally by 2020. We now know depression is largely caused by a disconnect from the natural world and social isolation. Both conditions/situations are preventable and treatable, cost effectively, using well designed landscapes.

Does technology and 'equipment' have a place in this natural cure? Yes, probably, but perhaps not in the way many are thinking.

Climate change, Prince Charles and gardens

Prince Charles, and many others, have been called foolish for expressing environmental sympathies in the past, as with the confidence of their convictions they speak out. Are we foolish to speak out?

I believe that anyone with a social, moral or environmental conscience must stand up for what they believe in.

If we don’t speak plainly now we will be reponsible for the future. If we do speak plainly now we will also be responsible, but for a better future. If Prince Charles can stand up in front of the European parliament then I can stand up in front of groups of school children, teachers, developers, architects and contractors, local authorities, private individuals and anyone else who will listen. I will (continue to) spread the message that climate change is real, is happening already, but there are things we can do to lessen the impact and slow the rate of change.

We can do the obvious things like use less energy: (turn off the switch when you’re not using the appliance/light etc, combine car journeys to use your car more efficiently, insulate your home, design buildings for natural light and windows for natural ventilation) and the sometimes overlooked things like: recycle and reuse clothing and household items (the pulled together Vintage look is very ‘now’, for good reason!), harvest rainwater to protect against drought, plant trees (for shade and for fruit), grow fruit and vegetables at home, make our own compost, attract natural pest-eaters into our gardens so we do not use petro-chemical based fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides. Moss killers, earthworm killers and slug poisons, for example, all poison off the birds we need to spread the seeds, the bees and other insects we need to pollinate our food plants and provide honey. The only healthy soil additives are natural products like straw, compost, ‘fertiliser tea’ made from mixed food waste steeped in water. Improve your soil, plant a variety of tress, shrubs and low growing plants, attract a vibrant bird, reptile (frogs and lizards play their part in keeping plant pests under control) and insect community into your garden and watch the ‘pests’ population balance. Remember, as any healthy garden needs water, shade and some hot sun for us to enjoy, so too, we need varied habitats for the ideal mix of beneficial wildlife.

If we believe the saying “you are what you eat” then by extension we are what we put into the ground. Rule of thumb: If it says ‘poison’ on the bottle, don’t use it on your garden.

Edible shade in sensory gardens

We use trees for shade in sensory gardens and increasingly we're choosing fruit trees for shade.

From a sustainability point of view fruit trees offer scented, beautiful, attractive blossom, food for pollinating insects, attractive-looking fruit, a source of local free fresh food for the community, add habitat-aiding biodiversity, their leaves cool the surrounding air through transpiration, and the trees filter and absorb rainwater to slow its progress into the ground water reservoir.

Coincidentally, when mature, fruit trees tend to be good for climbing, adding to both the (natural) play value of the site. Trees such as apples can be pruned or creatively trained to give a low, easy access, open structure.

sensory gardens for special needs schools

I am priveleged to be working on 2 new sensory gardens for special needs schools at opposite ends of the UK. The techniques used in a school apply equally to any sensory garden.

It is important to introduce life into the garden.

Water is essential. The sound of trickling water is torture for some people but others love it. Choose a water feature to suit your needs, and those of the local wildlife. If you are placing a free standing pond in a barrel, or similar, make sure that frogs can get in and out of the water with a ramp access of some sort.

Sunlight is also essential for life, so a sunny corner seat is a great way to enjoy the experience of letting the sun warm your bones.

A great way to add life to a garden is to add to the biodiversity of the area and plant a selection of trees, shurbs, flowers and grasses. If you leave logs and damp stones, moss and lichens will colonise the area as well. By introducing a wider range of planting you will encourage a wider range of invertebrates and vertebrates into your garden. Birds, frogs, butterflies and all manner of beneficial insects will naturally balance the unwanted bugs in your garden.

Sound and light are important sensory stimuli. Whether you use splashing water or wind chimes, bird song or hollow log drums set aside an area of the garden to be a little noisy. Light affects the way we see colour. For people with vision impariments it is important to have areas of light and shade, as well as brightly coloured planting and furniture within the garden. Create shady tunnels with bean, grape or espaliered fruit tree pole pergolas over a path so you can pick and eat as you walk through.

An edible sensory garden stimulates our sense of taste. Young children put everything in their mouths to fully make 'sense' of the unknown. As we learn to identify objects we make less use of our taste senses. We can stimulate them with delicious fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, planted within easy reach of the path.

Sustainable gardens need to be self sufficient for water

The concept of sustainability means that we do not do anything today which would harm the world our children will inherit. Demand for water has been growing around the world at a faster rate than fossil fuels. Sensory gardens need to conserve water, as do all forms of gardening.

In order to make the most of water in the garden, collect rainwater. Store it in covered tanks to avoid problems with mosquitoes. Use wind powered generators in suitable areas to power pumps to move water around the garden. Use gravity and pressure to move water where possible.

If you desire a water feature in your sensory garden, design a narrow canal, or rill, to channel the water. With a smaller surface area there is less chance of evaporation. Open surface ponds, balls and features with drips or sprays all lose excessive amounts of water. By designing small drops in the level of the rill you will get the sound of moving water. Get visual stimualtion through the reflective properties of the level stretches of the canal.

When irrigating the garden install a dripper system. It is most effective at getting water to where it is needed, the plants' roots,

The life span of dripper lines is usually up to 10-15 years, as mineral deposits in the water eventually make the line inoperable. However, neglecting to wash out the system periodically will significantly reduce their operable life span.

Flush the line for about 5-10 minutes annually, while using the water coming out of the hose for some useful purpose such as watering new plants.

See http://www.greenstonedesign.co.uk for more information on sensory garden design.