Below are suggestions for plants and other items you can include in and around your Sensory Garden to stimulate all 5 senses.

Sight: When selecting flowers, try to have a mix of energizing and restful colors. Be sure to group plants in clusters but remember to use contrast when selecting items. Plants that attract bright butterflies are generally good choices but don’t limit yourself to plants as brick, gravel, or stone and other non-living items are great for creating visual interest and balance.

Sound: Certain ornamental grasses, as well as man-made additions like wind chimes and water fountains or a bird bath also add to the sounds of the garden. Consider incorporating multiple sets of chimes – each one made from a different material (metal, bamboo, etc.)

Smell: Select herbs or perennials with strong scents.

Feel: Select plants with different textures – soft, wispy, (lightly) pokey, etc. Incorporate different textured rocks or mulch as well to offer different textures beyond the plants.

Taste: It is important that you only allow students to taste plants that are clearly labeled, approved beforehand, and aren’t grown using chemical treatments. Be sure to ID/ separate the edible plants from the others. If you use chemical treatments in your garden, be sure your edible plants are in pots that are removed from the area before any treatments in the garden are done.

See our Plant Suggestions below for a more complete list of plants we recommend you
include in your Sensory Garden.