Most of us plan our gardens to look nice - colourful, lush and leafy, or at least, green and tidy. What if we planned our gardens to appeal to all of our senses? To look appealing, to smell sweet or herby, to sound gentle and relaxing, to feel soft, to taste delicious? What pleasures our gardens would bring!
We find room for our favourite scented plants, and some to provide herbs or fruit for the kitchen.
We might even include one or two plants because they feel nice to the touch. But how often do we consider how our gardens sound?
Bees gently buzzing around the flowerbeds. Cicadas reaching a crescendo in the hot sun Dried seedheads clattering and rattling in autumn
The papery rustle of the breeze through dry grasses. Gravel crunching under your feet as you walk the path A welcome rainstorm splashing off metal roofs onto big broad leaves The burble of a creek, the bubble of a pool aerator, the fizz of a fountain.
And most relaxing of all, the sound of peaceful silence, and your heartbeat.
Sensory Gardens - Sound
Sound might be the least-considered aspect of a garden. We plan a harmonious colour palette, a pleasing arrangement of shapes and textures.We find room for our favourite scented plants, and some to provide herbs or fruit for the kitchen.
We might even include one or two plants because they feel nice to the touch. But how often do we consider how our gardens sound?
Stop. Pause. Listen. What do you hear?
Birds singing from the bushes. The rattle of a loose gatepost. Wind whispering in tall treetops.
Bees gently buzzing around the flowerbeds. Cicadas reaching a crescendo in the hot sun Dried seedheads clattering and rattling in autumn
The papery rustle of the breeze through dry grasses. Gravel crunching under your feet as you walk the path A welcome rainstorm splashing off metal roofs onto big broad leaves The burble of a creek, the bubble of a pool aerator, the fizz of a fountain.
And most relaxing of all, the sound of peaceful silence, and your heartbeat.
Sensory Gardens - Wind
May we introduce you to the wonderfully onomatopoeic word susurrus - a soft murmuring, a whisper, a rustle.
It's the noise of the wind through tall grass, the breeze rustling in the leaftops.
Plant some grasses in your garden and you'll soon understand susurrus. Especially if you choose grasses with ornamental seedheads, for extra rustling (and musical birdsong, as little birds come to feed in autumn.) Clockwise from top left : silver grass (Miscanthus), fast-growing and full of gentle whispering sound from those tall feathery plumes
mat rush (Lomandra), the bigger the better, with broad leafblades, for maximum sound effect - hystrix and longifolia will do it very well
club rush (Ficinia) and common rush sound out with a soft subtle rattle when the wind blows, staying silently upright in still weather
tussock grass (Poa), fountain grass (Pennisetum) and sedge (Carex) have fine slender leafblades that gently rustle and bustle in the breeze.
In the Far East you'll find tall forests of bamboo, the stems clanking together in wind like nature's giant musical instrument. Cane bamboo like this is far too large and invasive for a small suburban garden; but bamboo canes, safely dried and sliced, can produce a music all their own...
Create some intentional sound next time the wind blows, with your personal choice of wind chimes. Bamboo is a traditional material. The stems - and other wooden chimes - produce a low, soft, pleasant note, mellow and meditative. Metal chimes give a louder, longer, ringing note. Adjust the length and diameter of the pipes to create a higher or lower note. You can create unique personalised wind chimes by stringing shells, bells, old ornaments and metal jewellery, coconut husks, beach glass and blown glass, even empty bottles
- whatever makes a pleasing sound for you.
For the ultimate in garden sounds from wind - what about forming a gumleaf band?
Uncle Herb Patten explains how to turn a leaf into a musical instrument. It's a delightful watch
Sensory Gardens - Water
Japanese gardens are the highpoint when it comes to creating a sensory garden. They're often designed in a subtle restful harmonious colour palette, with simple plain elements, all intended to relax and calm the eyes. Instead, they're all about non-visual sensory textures - breezes rustling through grass, gravel crunching underfoot, the steady drip of water into a stone bowl.
The sound of moving water - a steady slow drip, a burbling creek, a splashing rainstorm, or a rushing torrent - adds life to a landscape. How much life you add, can be up to you! Gentle cascades are easy enough to accommodate in a larger garden; a little gravity will help the trickles along. Powerful waterfalls might need some acreage around them... Grand multi-layered spouting fountains are the hallmark of stately homes and public monuments - we love the one in Melbourne's Carlton Gardens;
but there's nothing stopping you adding a petite pot-sized burbler to your patio.
Sensory Gardens - Structure
When we construct a garden, we think about the strength of the build, how it will stand up over time and with heavy use.We think about the aesthetics, and how they complement those of the home inside the garden.We think about the materials in the hard landscaping - their cost, their look, their robustness, their ease of maintenance, and comfort in use.
But do we ever think about the way they sound?
Next time you lay or refurbish a path, consider the sound the materials make when you step on them. A sandy earth path edged with softwood planks.
A quiet mossy grassy carpet between pavers.
A track of hard resonant timber ringing out with each step.
A sea of crunchy gravel, and islands of smooth stone. Bubs are great at finding the best noises underfoot - on your next walk take a toddler with you (preferably in a pair of new boots) and let them run and jump on every surface. Even squishy muddy puddles.You'll soon discover new garden noises together!
Sensory Gardens - Wildlife
For many gardeners, part of the pleasure of gardening is being able to share it with others - whether human, animal, bird, or beneficial bug. Encouraging wildlife to the garden will give it an extra dimension of sound - often surprisingly tuneful!
Here's how to encourage more song into your garden, with Bird-Friendly Gardening These are some of our favourite birds to hear in the nursery : our resident willie wagtails, who follow us round while we work;
cheeky magpies with their bubbly song;
whip birds - often heard but rarely seen;
and butcher birds piping like a jazz flautist. We love the cries of black cockatoos overhead, and the high fast peeps of little brown honeyeaters as they sing from the tops of our grevillea bushes. You can see more of our melodic nursery visitors in our Birdspotting post.What's your favourite Aussie bird sound?
And don't go past the sound of insects in the garden! Did you know there are hundreds of different species of Australian cicada, and the sound of some species (at 120dB) is the loudest insect noise in the world?Cicadas often start singing when the temperature reaches a certain point, so cicada song is a kind of thermometer!
Many (quieter) garden insects, like our native bee species, are under threat from loss of habitat and need our help to survive. Can you do your bit to help out native bee populations? From building insect hotels to help them nest and overwinter, and eliminating pesticides,
to making space in your garden for one or two plants that bees and other helpful insects need.If you want to help a local bee out, and enjoy their gently busy buzzing for years to come, we've got heaps of tips in our post Bee-Friendly Gardening
Sensory Gardens - ssshhh
Finally, for many gardeners, their outdoor space is a quiet calm refuge;a place where they can find peace and solitude from the noisy demands of everyday life.
A place to relax in the music of nature.Sometimes, the sound of a garden is silence.
