Water in sensory gardens

Water is a vital element in any garden, but particularly in sensory gardens.

Touch, Sight, Hearing and possibly Taste are all stimulated by water. As the essential element for all life it brings a real vibrancy to a sensory garden. Water features can be small or large, depending on the local environment, available space and the needs of the users.

Garden design for sustainable sensory gardens is a specialist area. With water becoming a diminishing natural resource, it is important to design sustainable water features. Water features with large surface areas will be prone to rapid evaporation in hot weather. Rills can have a large resevoir fed off a rainwater harvesting system, but a narrow surface area across the narrow width of the canal allows mirror images, beautiful wildlife habitat and low evaporatino rates.

Surface planting with water lilies helps keep water temperatures cool, and again slows evaporation.

In a sustainable sensory garden make use of the shape of the land. A compacted low lying area of clay soil in the garden could be turned into a bog garden. It would fill naturally during periods of heavy rainfall, promoting increased biodiversity, and a sense of wonder in all who visited.