Sensory Garden for NDIS Housing

Designing a Leben Homes SDA property doesn’t end with the building itself, it extends to the amenities – such as our enlivening sensory gardens. While most gardens are designed with a focus on aesthetics, a sensory garden aims to stimulate all of your senses including smell, sound, taste and touch – not just sight.

Engaging the senses in a sensory garden

Sight

The most obvious starting point for any sensory garden is its visual element. To create a visually appealing garden, the design should incorporate a variety of different colours, sizes, shapes, textures and patterns. But visual stimulation extends beyond the flora, the design should also consider how the garden lives and breathes. How do the leaves move in the breeze? How do the plants change throughout the seasons? What insects do particular flowers attract? All of these elements impact the way a garden can stimulate the senses.

Smell

When it comes to stimulating the sense of smell, it’s almost effortless – nature makes it so easy. From freshly cut grass to blooming flowers and the savoury scent of a herb garden, a sensory garden design should consider year-round perfumes, as well the seasonal changes the garden experiences.

Taste

Planting deliciously scented herbs in a sensory garden has the added benefit of stimulating the sense of taste too! Basil, parsley, oregano, mint – they can be used to enhance food and beverages. Imagine the calming experience of sitting in a sensory garden with a warm cup of tea made with fresh mint picked from your own herbal garden.

Sound

The sounds of a sensory garden make it feel truly alive. From the crunching of gravel to the trickling of a water feature, the buzzing of pollinating bees and the chirping of songbirds, all of these sounds contribute to the symphony of a sensory garden.

Touch 

Is it tactile? While it might not be the first question that comes to mind when designing a traditional garden, ensuring that a sensory garden is tactile is very important. From the outdoor furnishings to floor surfaces and shrubbery, a sensory garden should feature a variety of different textures: hard, soft, smooth, rough, solid and fluid.

What are the benefits of a sensory garden?

Sensory gardens have proven therapeutic value – they provide beautiful places to relax, reflect, meditate, contemplate and talk. According to Better Health, getting outdoors in the fresh air and sunlight can provide a range of health benefits including reduced stress and lowered blood pressure. A sensory garden can be particularly beneficial for individuals with sensory processing issues, such as autism and ADHD. 

Sensory stimulation 

Sensory gardens are more than their looks – they stimulate all five senses. Engaging with the different elements of a sensory garden can provide increased stimulation for individuals with decreased use or loss of certain senses.

Promoting physical activity 

The benefits of physical activity are well known and the allure and variety of a sensory garden can be just the motivation needed to get outdoors and move about. Whether it’s taking a walk, tending to the garden, or picking some fresh herbs, every little bit of activity provides mental and physical health benefits.

A calming atmosphere 

Experiencing a sensory garden and the simple act of tending to it promotes mindfulness and provides stress relief, in turn reducing agitation and aggression. Additional benefits can include an increase in mental clarity.

What is in a Leben Homes sensory garden?

At Leben Homes properties, we’ve made sure that our sensory garden provides a space for NDIS participants to feel calm, stimulated and engaged by the sights, sounds, smells, textures and tastes of this outdoor haven.

Our gardens have been designed to feature a wide variety of texturally diverse plants and trees including birds of paradise, palms, giant turf lilies, and philodendron prince of orange with their mix of deep orange-bronze and bright green leaves. 

Each corner of the garden features different fragrances from the citrusy aroma of the mock orange paniculata to sweetly scented climbing Madagascan jasmine. There is designated space for lawn games and a herb wall growing basil, parsley, oregano, thyme and mint to enjoy.

With flowering trees like the vibrant purple jacaranda and red-hued dwarf bamboo shrubs, the garden will grow and evolve throughout the seasons bringing with it fresh colours, textures and fragrances.

With each Leben Homes featuring its own sensory garden, we hope NDIS participants will enjoy the stimulating and calming effects of these beautiful outdoor spaces in their new SDA home. Interested in learning more about Leben Homes? For more information about our properties or to register your interest, visit the contact us page on our website.