Creating a sensory garden is one of the most rewarding ways to bring comfort, mindfulness, and gentle therapy into your everyday routine. A sensory garden is thoughtfully arranged to stimulate our five primary senses: sight, touch, smell, sound, and taste.
For NDIS participants and older Australians accessing the Support at Home Program across Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula, and the Surf Coast, a personalised sensory garden offers a safe, accessible sanctuary. It encourages low-impact movement, reduces anxiety, and keeps us grounded in the present moment.
Here is how you can design a sensory garden tailored to your unique needs and local coastal conditions.
Key Design Principles for Accessibility
Before selecting your plants, consider the layout and non-living elements (hardscaping) of your garden:
Inviting Signage: Use simple, colorful signs that explicitly invite visitors to touch, smell, or taste specific plants.
Clear, Smooth Pathways: Ensure paths are wide, flat, and non-slip for easy navigation with mobility aids or wheelchairs.
Raised Garden Beds: Elevating garden beds to table height reduces bending and allows comfortable, close-up access to foliage.
Plant Selection: Choose Your Sensory Journey
You do not need to include every sense in a single corner. Pick and choose from the options below to create a space that feels right for you.
| Sense | Featured Plants for Geelong & Coastal Climates | Therapeutic Benefit |
| Touch | Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantina), Cushion Bush | Soft, velvety leaves provide immediate calming tactile input. |
| Smell | Native Mint Bush (Prostanthera), Lavender | Crushing foliage releases uplifting essential oils that lower stress. |
| Sight | Native Daisy (Brachyscome), Gold Dust Wattle | Bright, contrasting colors improve mood and support visual tracking. |
| Taste | Cherry Tomatoes, Native Lilly Pilly, Rosemary | Fresh, familiar flavors stimulate appetite and offer rewarding harvests. |
| Sound | Fountain Grass (Pennisetum), Bamboo | Gently rustling foliage introduces calming acoustic rhythms in breezes. |
1. Engaging Touch
Tactile plants encourage hands-on exploration. Lamb’s Ear offers velvety soft leaves that feel soothing beneath fingers. For a local native option, the silver foliage of the Cushion Bush provides a distinctive, structural texture that handles coastal winds well.
2. Aromatic Delights
Fragrance has a direct connection to memory and emotional regulation. Planting English Lavender along path edges ensures scent releases as you walk past. Culinary herbs like Rosemary and Thyme release warm, nostalgic aromas when gently rubbed.
3. Visual Harmony
Sight is stimulated through color contrast and light. Incorporate the delicate purple blooms of native Brachyscome daisies alongside bright green foliage. Using varied plant heights creates areas of gentle shade and sunlight filtering through leaves.
4. Flavor and Harvest
Tasting fresh produce brings a sense of accomplishment. Easy-to-grow choices like strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and edible Australian Lilly Pilly berries provide sweet treats straight from the garden stem.
5. Natural Soundscapes
Acoustic elements bring stillness to a busy mind. Ornamental grasses create a soft whispering sound when caught in a breeze. You can complement plant sounds with a small solar water fountain or a bamboo wind chime.
Learn more about the benefits of gardening:
- Read about sensory gardens and their benefit from Better Health Channel Victoria – Sensory Gardens.
- Get technical advice for growing therapeutic gardens from the Therapeutic Horticulture Australia – Practice Guidelines.