Sensory Design

3. Plants for sensory interest

Colour

Plants offer a complete spectrum of colour with the added delight of changes throughout the different seasons. Include flowers, leaves, bark, berries, lichens and mosses. As well as providing a range of colour experiences, if space permits, single colour themed areas can be considered that can be used to explore moods and atmosphere.

Shape

Most objects can be used although many natural materials are quite complex shapes. For simple, distinctive shapes consider;

LEAVES (sycamore, beech, ash)
FRUITS (apples, currants, rose hips)
FLOWERS (daisy, poppy, bell flowers)
STEMS (bamboo canes, dead nettle - square stems)
PLANT CONTAINERS (round, square, rectangular).
Movement

Good for stimulating interest and for improving attention spans, especially if movement is combined with sound.

Consider;

TREES (aspen, willow, white poplar)
GRASSES
Locate some within reach so that people can activate them. Place wind-activated items in places likely to receive some breeze.

Contrast

People with visual impairments who have some residual sight may be able to distinguish contrasting materials.

Consider;

flowers
foliage
Patterns

These can provide fascinating effects and can inspire art work. They are important in helping children learn to identify different objects.

Regular patterns are provided by;

dandelion clocks

pine cones

More random patterns by;

bark (plane, birch, eucalyptus), variegated leaves, skeleton leaves.

Texture

Feeling, touching

The outdoors is full of different textures and people with visual impairments in particular rely on these to interpret the environment.

Options include;

rough surfaces lichens, bark);
smooth (flower petals);
ridged (textured concrete, backs of leaves);
hairy (leaves such as Stachys, buds, grass);
bumpy (twigs).
soft (mosses, fungi)
slimy (algae)
Also think of objects that illustrate shapes (circular flowers, cubic containers, oval fruits, triangular ivy leaves etc); weight (light bark, heavy clay etc.); temperature (sun-warmed water, cold shaded water; stone next to soil); wet and dry (moist and dry soil/sand, freshly shed leaves and older dry ones); contrasting densities (hard stone and soft moss). Many non-disabled people underestimate the value of texture when deciphering their environment and they can learn a great deal from studying alongside those with visual impairments.

Smelling

Although most attention has been given to scented plants there are many other materials that have distinctive and interesting smells.

Consider:

scents that fill the air and can be smelt without touching the plant: (Mock orange (Philadelphus), some roses, winter honeysuckle, curry plant, cut grass, hay);
Intimate scents where the flowers need to be investigated: (violet, primrose, some Narcissus)
Activated scents which are released when plant parts are crushed (most culinary herbs, scented geranium).
Another option is for people to try to identify the scents from different distinctive herbs, such as peppermint and apple mint, lemon thyme and curry plant. There can be interesting differences between people's abilities to detect the more subtle scents, such as violets and primroses, and in schools it can be a fun exercise to get children to run a survey of their class. Some plant scents can be a problem for people with asthma, particularly the more powerful scents and those coupled with flowering and therefore pollen release. Other options include a whole range of familiar smells (pond water, wood shavings, autumn leaves, cut grass). The effects of water on smells can be interesting (wet soil, stone, leaves).

Tasting

Taste can be a useful way of demonstrating where food comes from and showing the link between growing and eating. However, particularly with children, it is important to ensure that they remain cautious about unidentified plants and it is probably necessary to restrict the choice to those food plants which are clearly recognised, such as apples.

Orientation, gravity and balance

Aspects of path design, such as width, change in direction, branching, slopes and ability to see a destination or end point all influence speed of travel and sense of mystery and invitation. Therefore paths in sensory gardens and trails can be seen to have much more potential than simply providing direct access. Orientation skills may also be developed by providing things for children to stand on or climb up (logs, trees, platforms, bridges, stages) that test or develop balance and which act as markers in the landscape. For some people the teaching objective may be to introduce such basic concepts as up, down, high and low (this may be done by incorporating objects that can be repositioned such as hanging baskets and mobiles).

Cause and effect

Some people have problems understanding the concept of cause and effect. This can be demonstrated very effectively through a range of practical outdoor features such as interactive sculptures on which people can pull levers, press switches or activate touch-sensitive pads to produce different effects. Other possibilities include gear wheels, pulleys, balances and water which moves through a series of pools or channels.

Moods

The design of quiet and relaxing areas may be a worthwhile consideration where people need a calming influence. Some schools and residential units have reported that such environments are useful for counselling. There may be value in creating other types of atmosphere, for example through the use of shade and light, enclosure and sounds to explore other moods.

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