From rustling leaves to wildlife noises, sound is an important dimension of a sensory garden. We share advice on bringing sound into your garden.
- Sound can help you feel relaxed and at ease
- Actively engage with the environment. Sound can be especially important if you are visually impaired or have memory loss
- Closing your eyes and listening to the sounds around is a great way of 'being in the moment'
Ornamental grass. Photo credit - Leiada Krozjhen, Unsplash
Sound is something we are aware - even when we are not aware that we are aware of it! Sound forms a huge part of how our brains build a picture of the environment we are in. It has a big effect on how relaxed and at ease we are - for some people, blocking out unwelcome sounds is an important part of creating an enjoyable garden.
When we’re outside surrounded by nature and we hear the birds tweeting or the grass rustling in the breeze, these sights and sounds have a tangible effect on us and uplift our spirits.
David Domoney, TV gardener and Thrive ambassador
Listening activities are a good way of feeling calm and tuning in to your environment. We may not be able to control a lot of the external sounds that come into our garden. We can create, however, add our own sounds to help us shape the experience of our gardens.
Windchimes in a garden
There are many ways to bring sound features into our gardens. Here are some to explore:
Noisy footsteps
Your own movement around your garden can create pleasing sounds. The hard materials you choose can make a difference to the sounds you make as you walk around. For example:
- Gravel can crunch underfoot
- Wooden decking and paving stones can create a gentle thud
- Bark chips can create a soft muffled sound when walked over
You could add crunchy gravel, slate chippings or stones of different sizes to a large area of your garden. You could also use them to fill in empty spaces between flower beds, or create a little path.
Adding water
A small rock waterfall
Water features can be an attractive addition to any garden. They are particularly useful in sensory gardens as they appeal to multiple senses. You can touch and feel the flow of the water, watch as the water moves and listen to its sound.
Water features don’t have to be expensive. There are plenty of inexpensive options available along.
If you have a big garden, you could create a pond or have a fountain. But you don't need a large garden to add water. There are lots of water features available that would fit a small patio garden or balcony. You can also find solar powered ones, which avoids needing a power source in the garden.
Attracting wildlife
A bee on buddleja
Birds, bees and butterflies make a garden so much more enjoyable and are essential for sensory stimulation. Birdsong is one of the most calming and uplifting noises for people to listen to.
Attract birds to your garden by adding a bird feeder, plus bird bath and nesting box if you can.
If you don't have a garden, you might be able to fix a bird box to the wall of your home. This will allow you to enjoy watching and listening to winged visitors from your window.
Bees can also create a lovely natural background hum. They are easy to attract with the right plants, such as native wildflowers. Read our guide to bee friendly plants for more suggestions.
Wind chimes
Wind chimes can make a distinct and beautiful addition to your garden sound design. You can buy ready-made wind chimes, or you could create your own.
Wind chimes can be made of a variety of materials which all produce slightly different tones and sounds. Wooden tubes, rods and bells are often used to make wind chimes for outdoor use.
A good place for wind chimes is a small, secluded area of the garden away from your house. This way they can respond to the wind without disturbing the rest of the garden. This could be a great place for a seating area. You can sit in peace and enjoy the music created by the wind chimes and the rustling of the garden.
‘Noisy’ plants
The rustle of leaves is one of the loveliest pieces of the natural soundscape. Leafy plants such as bamboo and ornamental grasses create a soothing, rustling sound in the wind.
Bamboo works particularly well in a sensory garden. Its pretty foliage whispers in the wind while its stems knock together, creating a hollow sound. Larger bamboo canes are also great for making wind chimes with.
A child sitting in the garden
- Sound can be a fun feature for children when creating a sensory garden and can play a key role in helping children connect and understand more about nature and the environment around them.
- To stimulate their sense of hearing, you may want to include elements that create contrasting sounds. For example, the rustle of leaves on trees, bamboo stems and ornamental grasses as children walk past them, birdsong, a water feature or pond, a path made of small stones or gravel – each contribute unique sounds to the garden.
- There are also lots of activities children can get involved in so as to experience the sounds around them in the garden and make it fun. By sitting with the children in the garden, encourage them to listen to all the sounds of nature around them, such as the bees buzzing, the birds singing and the sound of the wind rustling the plants and then get them to write down all the sounds they hear to see how many they can identify.
- You can also get them to imitate the sounds they hear and then find the source of where the sounds are coming from.
- How about encouraging them to keep a sound journal? So for a whole month, get them to spend time in the garden, recording what they hear and to see how the sounds change over time. Suggest to them to find new ways to describe what they are hearing, for example, they can make their sounds on a map, try drawing the shape and movement of the sounds or maybe take some photos too.
Related content
Planning a sensory garden
Sensory gardens include features, objects and plants that appeal to our senses. They can be calming or stimulating, with a range of potential wellbeing benefits.
