Sensory Plants & Their Benefits

Rajeev by Rajeev Sahadevan

Published Mon, Mar 28th 2016, 10:26 | Gardening


Sensory plants are those that can stimulate our 5 senses and enhance their capability. The sensory plants create a sort of love bind between the humans and nature. Many a times we may admire a garden for its beautiful blooming flowers, we enjoy the sweet scent of the flowers and the beautiful foliage if the plants, but how often do we really, I mean really feel like you get more from simply having some plants around you? The sensory plants can create this feel inside you and make you aware that all your senses have suddenly come alive. The sensory plants are able to wake our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and the sensory skin.

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Benefits Of Sensory Plants

1.       Scent: The sweet smell from the flowers and the leaves will have influence on our emotions. Lavender, mint, chocolate cosmos etc send their scent into the air. Other plants like geranium will have their smell emitted when the leaves are crushed. Either way the smell of the plants reaches our sensory organs.

2.       Sight: Create a sensory garden with artistic plant arrangement with colors spread out to make a visual treat. Our eyes will have a great time absorbing the beauty. The awe of the blooming colors will help us forget our worries. A well color balanced sensory garden avoids overstimulation of our sight. The arrival of colorful butterflies all over this beautiful sensory garden adds to the visual treat.

3.       Sound: The sound of the leaves dancing in the wind creates a soothing sound. It is nature’s way of calming our mind and senses. Each sensory plant has its own sound of moving. Have a small fountain or a wind chime nearby to enhance the positive effects on the sound sensory organ.

4.       Taste: The taste of the edible fruits, vegetables, and leaves are treating for our taste buds. While creating a sensory garden do not forget these taste sensory plants.

5.       Touch: The texture of the leaves and flowers stimulate the tactile senses. Have a variety o plants with different textures if you have children around. It helps them differentiate between the textures easily. Also have plants that are different in flowers and their leaves according to the textures.

Sensory plants are the natural ways for the children to get to know their environment.  It is much easier and safer for them to explore the nature without much trouble. But care must be taken to avoid any poisonous plants in the garden and also have someone accompany them to these plants all the time. Have the sensory plants differentiated according to the sense they stimulate. It creates some sort of design and makes it easy to identify one form the other.

List Of Sensory Plants

·         Scent: Rose, aromatic herbs, honeysuckle, lavender, chocolate cosmos, sweet pea etc.

·         Sight: Sunflowers, marigold, Chameleon plant, Swiss chard, chocolate ruffles etc.

·         Sound: Briza grass, Nigella, Nanus variegates for bamboo like leaves, sweet corn, and bamboo.

·         Taste: All kinds of edible fruits and vegetables.

·         Touch: Silver sage, African sundew, Houseleek, Jerusalem sage, lamb’s ear, moss.  

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