Gardens have had a very wet summer but finally, as we move though to autumn, we have more stable weather to look forward to over the next few weeks.
Autumn is nature’s planting time.
Through February and March as the soil temperatures start to drop and even though leaf growth slows down, the roots still grow giving you stronger plants in the next summer making this the best planting time of the year for trees and shrubs.
Gardening for the senses brings the garden to life and makes for a fun journey of discovery allowing you to create your own signature on your garden.
By gardening for the senses you connect with nature on a very basic level and it is easier than one thinks.
Of the five senses, smell is the one we all love in the garden the most with fragrant plants being ever popular.
Where traditionally flowers were the order of the day in modern gardens the addition of fragrant foliage adds to the romance as one only smells them when they are touched or brushed against.
Sight is represented in bright colours of foliage or flowers which is the most personal of all the choices.
The wow factor is what you aim for when selecting plants for this sense.
To hear your garden is part of the magic.
Even though silence is golden there is something about the sound of wind moving through grass or the trickle of a water feature that calm the soul.
The crush of pebbles beneath your feet in a pathway and even the chirp of birds make your garden come to life.
The sense of touch or to feel is one of the most basic instincts we have in the garden.
Textured leaves to rub or stand on are the best way to connect, as it were, with nature.
Just watch out for thorns and spikes that is a touch none of us likes!
Taste is the one sense that somehow is different to each member of the family.
Herbs and vegetables are all selected because of the taste and yet what works for one does not work for the next.
Autumn brings planting time round for the next selection of eats, sow vegetable seeds or pick fresh season herbs now.
Walk through your garden and explore the senses, when you balance all of them in the landscape you discover that your garden becomes your haven, more than just home.
n Compiled by Eckards
