I consciously choose plants to appeal to all five senses. (To my fellow psychics - I would have said six, but you already knew that.) It makes gardening so much more appealing and rewarding. If you have not considered this while planning, I encourage you to do so.
The visual is the obvious one of course. We all love to see plants - that's why we love sharing photos all year around! We all have favorite colors, shapes, textures. I appreciate foliage just as much as flowers. I think this is something that comes with experience. Most newbies are 'seduced' by blooms. Pleasing bed designs will pull things together and have a visual flow, punctuated by focal points to draw our eye. There is nothing more pleasing than a great combination. One of my favorite foliage combos, as I have said in the past, is a bluish needle conifer with a dark palmate JM or dark green, large-leaved plant like a hosta.
Fragrance. Who does not love that? I plant my favorites as close to the house and windows as possible. Many are much stronger at night, to attract pollinators (connection to humans wearing perfume or cologne? Hmm.) We all have out individual preferences. Some are just too strong for me. I like lilies, but they can be overwhelming. I rarely bring oriental lilies indoors because of this. Reminds me of a funeral parlor! I don't like brugmansia. I love honeysuckle, viburnums, roses, lilac, lavender, hostas and many more.
Touch. If you don't regularly touch your plants, start! The feedback is wonderful. I love feeling the various textures and comparing. Thorns for the kids' garden - hee hee! Love lamb's ear. I love feeling flower petals. Some conifers are just amazingly soft. Deodar cedar and dawn redwood are two.
Sound. Many forget about this sense. It can be very pleasing. Wish I had room for a quaking aspen. My giant miscanthus makes a fantastic rustling sound in just a slight breeze. Even the 'silent' grasses give you the sense of the sound of the breeze when they move so gracefully in the wind. One of the main reasons I have a pond is for the sound of the moving water. It is incredibly relaxing. I have often passed out while walking by. ^_^
Last, but not least - taste. Growing your own food is one of the most rewarding aspects of gardening. Nothing on earth compares to fresh veggies and fruit. No wondering about what was used on it. You save a ton of money with many of them. We usually grow more than we can use so we can share with friends, neighbors or those in need. I encourage all to keep that in mind this coming year with so many people struggling. I really wish I had more space for food gardening. I will still continue to squeeze things in and grow in containers.
Please share your thoughts, plans and experience with gardening for the senses!
Gardening for all the senses
My pond plantings incorporate all but the taste sense.
Pleasing to the eye, hand and tongue!
Don't you want to stroke this?
Giant miscanthus. Pleasing to the ear and the birds.
Flowers - dont know much just started last year. Your right how a bloom will draw a person, me being one. Right now I AM SURE that everything is in disaray. Planted to close, height tall and short all mixed in togather and I am sure the colors are all entangled.
What to do I have no clue. Take what I got and make it better. I do not have a vision. Will do something.
Now veggies is a different story. I will do my normal garden. Its big enough in fact almost too big for one person to take care of. Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes and tomatoes. 2 years ago 91 tomato plants and last year only 54. I will go back up to around 100. Big boys, beef steaks and sweet 100's. Green peppers, string beans, peas, cukes - straights and pickling, summer squash, blue hubbards, zuchinni, radish's. There is always room for more stuff!
We are planning on putting in just a HOT pepper garden. Yeppers another veggie garden. Not as big as mine and I wont be the keeper. DH and his son will tend to it. Of course I will have to peek now and again, like every day. It will have Jalapenos, Bhut Jolikas, chili, harbarnaro, cherry and what ever else I grow.
My intent will be the same. Canning tomatoes, making salsa. I cant remember how much salsa I canned last year but it is almost gone. I swear the kids come by just to nab a jar of that stuff. And now they have friends that want to buy it ! Going to attempt some relish and maybe canning a few different things. Like chili.
I bought a small freezer. I have to buy one of those sealing bag thingies. I am going to freeze, peas, green beans and squash. Make some dishes and throw them in the freezer for a quick meal.
My intent will be the same. Grow extra. Kids come by they get sent home with veggies. They come by again and get sent home with more veggies. Friends come the same thing happens. Family and friends do come first.
Now most of you know, I have my little 12x25' GH. It took one year for myself to learn how to operate it. To utilize every square inch and to make things come alive. Rember the first year I murdered more than I could grow in the GH. Everything goes right this fall DH and friends are putting up a 30' x 50' (actually its 30' x 110' but only 1/2 is going up)up. That GH and just about everything has been sitting here for over a year. All goes good it will have a watering system and a timer to water ITSELF! This is so cool as the small GH will be a seeder and harding off area.
If it took me a year to man a little GH, next year with a big GH I will probably be in a
mental institution
One of my favorite scent is Phlox, it is near the house and in front of a window, its scent will always remind me of my grandmother's flower garden.
Then there is the smooth feel of the cyprus trees I planted to allow some shades for the flower garden.
The color swamp maples that are growing down near the pond give me endless pleasure to look at and though I do not want to touch it but what red color is more brilliant then poison ivy as it climbs up a tree on the edge of the woods.
I do not have a vegetable garden now, but the color of a pumkin or carrot was and still impresses, and what is more beautiful then a tomato in its various colors from green to red to orange and even purple.
Nice phlox, Maria. I love their scent too.
Taste- I was planning on starting a veggie garden this year.
Visual- I am real anal when it comes to colorizing the garden, the gardens adjacent to the house have to match the house. then as I get farther out into the yard I'm not too choosy but the gardens have to be colorized.
Touch-I'm always feeling my plants, I do have lambs ear for this reason
Scent-I am starting to really pay more attention to the flowers with scent....my fav right now is this daff(sun disc) I have by the front door. The fragrance is amazing! and I am getting real dissapointed when flowers don't have a scent.
Sound- I love the sound of the birds and rustling of leaves in the breeze, trying to convince hubby that you don't need to have fish if you have a pond, at least a fountain would be nice...some day.
Forgot to mention.... this is a fun topic!
Victor, your pond is phenomenal! I almost passed out just looking at the picture, lol!
I try to garden for the senses too. I am downright awful at actually "planning" anything, so my beds are kind of a mish-mash, but I do try to include all the things you listed above.
Visuals are easy. So many plants are pleasing to the eye. If I could only get some design sense things would be even prettier.
Fragrance is one of my favorites. I have a large patio, and I try to put lots of fragrant flowers here. Sweet peas, roses on an arbor, a big Hosta Guacamole (I think that's the one) in a pot, which has a wonderful fragrant bloom. I also have a night-blooming jasmine, which actually can get overpowering, IMO, but my DH loves it so it stays on the patio. I did move away most of the potted lilies though, as they can be a bit much too.
On the front steps I often keep pots of marigolds. I love their scent, although many don't, and I love to breathe them in while hanging out on the front steps.
Touch - there are certain plants that I just cannot walk by without touching. One in particular is my artemisia - I think it's a Powis Castle. It just begs for you to reach out and touch it. I also have large expanses covered with what I've just identified as Hair Cap moss, and I love it! Most people would try to rip it out and establish a lawn, but I love this moss. It's great to walk on - I even sometimes take off my shoes and walk in it barefoot. And I'm not a barefoot kind of person!
Taste - I've got an ever-expanding vegetable garden. I just wish I had more sun...
Sound - This one is harder for me. I don't have a pond. It is on the wish-list but I know it will be a LONG time coming, lol. And I'm not a big lover of grasses, although I've been really enjoying my neighbor's grasses the last two winters, (through my window, lol) so that may be changing. Right now my favorite sound in the garden is the buzz of bees and the chirp of birds. That will have to do for now.
Great thread. You come up with some great topics, Victor! Thanks!
:)
Victor I am with you... I see, I want to touch, smell it... and of course I can't help it but I loose track of time because it's all so beautiful... oh the sound of the wind... the smell it brings... ah so gorgeous... and of course I have eaten roses... not that I plant then for eating, but you know some smell just like rose apple... oh I miss that fruit!
But I still have to learn about designing... I trully get lost when I think of what-to-plant-where... so I have been reading and getting tons of magazines and trying to learn...
now that the "bones" of my garden are in place it's time to fill in the spaces...
don't you want to touch and smell it!!!????
ah so much color... needs help !!!!
Excellent topic, Victor.
Please be careful about passing out by your lovely pond or you will know how it tastes!
I am affected by one other: size. While I appreciate the smallest of plants, I prefer being immersed in the midst of the larger ones. As a child, I was quite taken with Alice in Wonderland, specifically when she was small & in the garden amongst the flowers. The description & illustrations are etched in my mind. I think this is why I have planted so many shrubs.
My neighbour planted Bamboo which has a gentle comforting sound in the breeze. Even the smaller grasses rustle quietly.
No pond here, but I am treated to the sound of many bird species that prefer my orchard, and the wooded area at the front of my property.
I have grown vegies for many, many years. It has only been the last few that I have come to admire them for the visual treat they provide.
Smell - well, something fragrant is blooming from February through September, here.
Right now, it's Sarcococca, Pieris & the Daphne is just starting to open.
I touch all my plants: there are so many textures, all so different, from bark to leaf to petals.
I cannot imagine what it would be like to have a total disconnect from all that grows.
Okay . . . it's official . . . I want Victor's pond and all the plants.
I am a rookie - and I am slowly landscaping the terrace on our street. But I am trying to do the five senses. Although the fifth - taste - is to appeal to butterfly catepillars. ^_^
I will try to have more photo's of the terrace this year. I really like the idea of texture. Alas, I don't have deep pockets, so everything must be started from seed or cuttings - but I am working on it.
Victor - is it possible to get a list of the plants that surround your pond? Some I recognize.
Also - how did you come up with the design? Trial and error? Gradual evolment over several years?
My "bent" has always been toward the sense of smell, for the most part.
Lavendula, Santolina, Monarda, Sages, well-most herbs, Sweet woodruff, Buddleja, Lilac, Cedar, etc. Stuff that is more powerfully fragrant.
Secondary consideration is a tie between Sight and Touch. Mostly blue / cool hues and anything that will add textural interest.
The past couple of years I have been scheming more and more about Sound. Living next to one of the area's busiest traffic intersection, I want to mask that din. The babbling brook is in the works, leading to the pond.
Taste has always been an added bonus. Except for the veggie & herb gardens.
Not much color showing in this photo, but you can see the textures working.
great photos all
Thanks all - and thanks for contributing. Good point about the birds - forgot that one. That's why I plant things to attract them with berries, etc. I also leave my spent perennials up until late winter. Love watching the birds visit the seed heads.
Dee - I like the smell of marigolds too. I like bamboo also, Kate. It's on my list.
I'll try to come up with a complete list, Michaela. As for design - it's a bit of both. Oddly enough, I prefer designing and planting a bed over time, as opposed to planning it all at once. More fun too.
Great photos! I also like playing with form. For example, doublefile viburnum is strongly horizontal. It's nice to pair it with a strongly vertical element, which can be a structure or your house, or another plant.
I do like winter interest too. In addition to evergreens, I look to berries, structure (doublefile viburnum are great - JM's too), bark color or exfoliation and 'evergreens' which color up - like nandina, to provide interest.
Hi Kassia, Good to have gardeners in MA...
12 " of snow so far...am planting my viola and morning glory seeds..
Are you going to the Round Up in Halifax ?? Would be great to have gardeners from MA. meet there !!
Do you mean Halifax Nova Scotia?
Halifax, MA
Here is the link for the RU being hosted by Karen (NutsForDaylily)
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/948016/
right - I remember this one and I really would like to go - but we are driving to the westcoast then.
I would LOVE to see the gardens, so I hope everyone who attends will take LOTS of pictures.
victor great thread topic - i do not think about the different senses although i do try to make the gaden beds pleasing year round, i like to mix evergreens, jm's, flowering shrubs, and flowering trees and then fill in the small spaces with bulbs, hosta, echi's, sedum, ect. in a single bed
i also like the form of beds with deep edging and slow turns and that are clean with some separation (no magic shoe horn) - just like the look although when mowing the yard the edges it can be hazardous to ankles.
i don't really "plan a full bed" prior too planting - i have a few prime focal points which are usually my favorites which i will list below and build around them over time - i am constantly moving and changing them to get them right - whether ir is size, color, or structure.
i also try for the three (4) season affect - evergreens (dwarf) with interesting jm branch structures, leaf colors or colored bark that offer two seasons to the trees - try to contrast leaf color to evergreens or jm to jm - i also really like the blue conifers although i find myself getting yellows and green as well - alberta spruces and the different "exotic" dwarf spruces.
favorites i simply have to have are jm's (i think after this year i'll be approaching 30 varieties), dogwoods (12 or so), red buds (15) are soft spots. and i will admit that since joining here i have learned about many i would ever have known of that are starting to fill my yard.
still trying to get that statement bed like your pond victor - although i have seen bed pic from others that looked fantastic and they would complain they were also striving for better - so the grass sometimes seems greener when maybe we have it already
Another great thing about evergreens is that they provide shelter for birds, making it more likely they will be in your garden to provide the visual and sound rewards.
I was thinking the smell part is going to be the hardest part of the design. Maybe they'll have scratch and sniff.
rather the real thing!
Would be great to totally experience great gardens. I'm sure something else will be the 'killer app', though.
Might actually lead to the realization of what the people became in Wall•E .....
Hmmmmm are they trying to warn us about something??
Yes - no need to move.
awe .... but I like movement!
Great thread! I'd like to hear more about the sixth sense though ;0)
Looking forward smelling the dirt soon!
come over Victor... you smell it inside here
:)
I can imagine with all those you start!