A Sensual Journey Through Garden Tranquility
Ask any keen gardener, and they’ll tell you that spending time outside is a tranquil experience for them. Nothing beats getting on your hands and knees and spending time out in nature. It’s fantastic for your mental well-being. On top of which, the meditative practices of planting and weeding can really impact your levels of calm.
But, it’s possible you can extend that experience further by making your garden an even more tranquil place. In most instances, this won’t be too much of a stretch. After all, you have the great outdoors on your side. The chances are that your garden is a pretty tranquil place as it stands. Though, that’s not to say that you can’t help it along in that aspect. By concentrating on this goal, you can ensure any time spent in your outdoor space leaves you feeling like you’ve done a yoga session.
While there are a few different ways to work on your outside tranquility levels, it may be worth focusing on the senses. After all, ticking the boxes for each of these is sure to work wonders. And, to help you achieve just that, we’re going to take a sensual tour of your garden goals.
The sights
As sight is often the first sense to have an impact, let’s start with the power of what you see in your garden. It should go without saying that to achieve a tranquil sense in this area, you need to keep things neat and tidy. After all, no one’s going to feel calm while they look at an overgrown tangle of weeds. Quite the opposite. Instead, you need to work on a space that looks aesthetically calming. This means different things to everyone, but clean flower beds and mown grass would be an excellent place to start.
Speaking of your flower beds, it’s also worth incorporating as many different colors as you can. You may want to mix them or keep each separate. Either way, an explosion of natural color is sure to have a calming effect.
If the country cottage garden is your ideal, you may also want to think about incorporations such as a chicken coup. Whether it be a real one or an ornamental version, this is sure to help you feel at home in the space. Speaking of ornaments, you could also build a statue collection with a calming influence. Solar-powered options with fairy lights and such can look fantastic when it starts getting dark. They’re also sure to be a constant reassurance when you look out the window of an evening.
The sounds
Sound is another crucial factor to consider when spending time outside. Sadly, it isn’t always easy to control. If your garden is next to a busy road, there is going to be some unwelcome sound. But, you can take steps to reduce it as much as possible. For one thing, high fences could help to retract the noise. You could also find better, natural sounds to cover it.
If you have a pond, why not install a pond fountain? The rush of water is a calming sound in itself, and it’s sure to drown out the hum of engines. On top of which, looking at pond fountains with lights can also tick the box on sight. Much like your ornaments, this will gently light up your garden during the evenings. If you don’t fancy going all out with a significant feature, invest in a small fountain that produces trickling sounds. There are plenty of ornaments out there which can achieve this goal. Often, you don’t even need a pond to make them work. Just hook them up to your water supply and sit back for some soothing.
Of course, we couldn’t mention sounds in the garden without talking about nature. This is, after all the main event. Nothing calms us as well as the sound of birdsong, or the buzz of insects. To a certain extent, these are part and parcel of being outside. As such, you could enjoy them with no real effort. But, to really benefit, it’s worth thinking about how you can attract nature to your garden. For the most part, insects will come if you have flowers. But, you can increase the chances by not spraying pesticides. It’s also worth providing plenty of hidey holes for them.
As for birds, a bird feeder is sure to attract. You could buy one ready-made, or create your own if you want to save money. It’s easy enough to do and could be a fun little project. Either way, once your feeder is in place, you can sit back and listen to birdsong until your heart’s content.
The smells
Let’s not forget that smell is vital, too. We’ve left it until last because, in all honesty, this is the hardest of the senses to harness in your garden. But, that doesn’t mean you’re without hope. For one thing, mowing your lawn often will help here. The freshness of cut grass is sure to do the job nicely. On top of which, planting the right flowers will give you a smell sensation to envy. Planting particularly scented options, such as honeysuckle and roses, ensures you get wafts, even when you aren’t in amongst them. Simply do your research to find out about what would work best here, then get planting. You can be sure this effort will also help in your quest to attract insects, so it’s one worth making.
Of course, those aren’t the only smells you may want to incorporate. Other fantastic relaxed garden scents also include fire and other earthy scents. If this is something you think would work for you, why not take the time to create a garden fire pit? As well as encouraging you to spend time outside after dark, the scent of smoke is sure to leave you feeling calmer. Nights around the fire take us back to days before technology. They’re sure to leave you feeling fresh and fantastic.
