mentor: Joanna Bernacka, MA
number of taxa: about 170
area: 1800 m2

Sensory Gardens, or Gardens of the Senses

A garden of this type is supposed to affect all our senses. Sight recedes into the background here, and the other senses begin to dominate. We must begin to perceive the reality around us by means of hearing, smell, touch and even taste. Such sensitization of our senses is what the sensory garden is supposed to make possible.

These gardens usually have therapeutic functions, so they are adapted for the blind, the disabled, as well as children or young people. They also provide a place for active recreation for entire families.

The increasing interest of visitors in this subject has prompted us to create such gardens. We are currently in the early stages of creating them, and the first attempts to establish them took place in 2018.

It is now established Garden of Rumbling Grasses. To achieve a diversity of sound effects, the garden is planted with grasses of different heights and stiffness of both stems, inflorescences and leaves. An additional advantage is the variety of their colors.

General view of the Garden of the Murmuring 
In the foreground, Miscanthus sinensis 'George' on the right, Spodiopogon sibiricus on the left, and Miscanthus floridulus on the right.

Among the many grasses are: miscanthus (Miscanthus), rosemary (Pennisetum), millet (Panicum), as well as the following: swamp (Molinia), promise (Chasmanthium), graybeard (Spodiopogon), reedbed (Calamagrostis), fescue (Festuca) and hackonechloa (Hakonechloa).

In turn, the sense of sight is affected by Gardens of Color. We have established a garden: White, Gold and Color.

In the garden White dominated by plants with white flowers, such as roses (Rosa), jasmine trees (Philadelphus), hydrangeas (Hydrangea), asters (Aster), garlics (Allium), checkerboards (Fritillaria) and annual plants.

Garden Gold It owes its name to plants with yellow flowers and leaves. It grows roses (Rosa), bumblebee (Euonymus), sunflower (Heliopsis), goldenrod (Solidago), tulips (Tulipa), as well as numerous annual plants.

Variety of colors, on the other hand, characterizes the garden Colorful. Among the many varieties of roses, shades of red and pink predominate. These colors are also found among planted annuals.

In addition, plants with intense fragrance, such as catnip (Nepeta), perovskia (Perovskia), lavender (Lavandula) and thyme (Thymus).

With children in mind, installations with ceramic elements designed to affect the senses of sight, hearing and touch have been set up in the Gardens of the Senses.