SENSORY GARDENS DESIGNED FOR CHILDREN & WITH CHILDREN
In this inspiring and practical blog by Cara Caudle, a Certified Forest School Practitioner, you'll explore how sensory gardens can transform early learning environments. Designed for children and with children, these gardens awaken curiosity, promote well-being, and support all eight senses — from sight and smell to body awareness and balance.
Whether you're thinking about an indoor setup with calming succulents or a vibrant outdoor space buzzing with pollinators, Cara offers ideas, inspiration, and resources to help you get started. Plus, you'll learn how to involve children in the process, encouraging empathy, mindfulness, and discovery along the way.
Have you ever noticed the smell of the air after a fresh rain or the way a child’s behaviour shifts as they enter an outdoor play space?
Outdoor exploration and connections with nature are fundamental for lifelong healthy development. From nurturing physical well-being in the early years to supporting mental health in adulthood, learning with nature offers many benefits!
Sensory gardens are a wonderful way to enrich early learning programs by integrating natural opportunities that promote children’s curiosity and engagement. They offer children the opportunity to explore their sensory preferences, discover the unique characteristics of plant life, and deepen their sense of empathy toward all living things through hands-on experience. Sensory gardens can be integrated indoors or outdoors and can be designed in a variety of ways to meet children’s unique needs. Incorporating plants like lavender invites moments of calm through soothing aromas, while sunflowers encourage closer observation of intricate details and the rhythmic patterns of their petals. Whether you are hoping to cultivate a sense of calm, nurture growing attention spans, or foster a sense of wonder, there is a plant that can do just that!
Getting started with a sensory garden means diving into research, planning, rallying support, and embracing the learning that comes with trying something new. Explore the sensory possibilities of native plants then try out your design, observe which plants children are drawn to, which ones they enjoy feeling, and which ones they love to smell. It is also helpful to consider possibilities for including all eight senses, including sight, smell, touch, sound, taste, proprioception (body awareness and strength), interoception (internal sensations), and vestibular (balance and movement). Providing proprioceptive input might mean adding buckets or jugs for children to carry water or soil, while vestibular input could come from logs, stumps, or stepping stones for balancing. These lesser-known sensory areas are often overlooked in early childhood but play a crucial role in helping children feel grounded and connected. Insect homes, wind chimes, and small water features like a birdbath or tabletop fountain can make a sensory garden even more enchanting!
If you’re starting an outdoor sensory garden, you can consider pollinator-friendly native plants as they naturally provide diverse sensory experiences and lend themselves generously to the bugs and insects. Outdoor gardens allow for a variety of plant heights, including some taller than the children, some medium, and some low-growing. A tall height can help frame the flow of foot traffic through an open space or create a hideaway nook for risky-play seekers! Each plant inevitably has its own unique characteristics and strengths, and should be chosen accordingly. Indoor sensory gardens, on the other hand, often rely on smaller plants specifically, such as succulents or slow-growing vines. They are often designed around available light sources and are found in placed in spaces that would benefit from their calming presence, like a connection corner or transition area.
The truth is, your sensory garden will evolve over time based on what you notice works well and what doesn’t. The best time to get started is now!
How will you integrate sensory gardens into your environment?
Here are additional supporting resources to help springboard your sensory garden!
Pollinator Partnership Canada - https://pollinatorpartnership.ca/en/find-your-roots
Your Ultimate Guide to Sensory Garden Plants & Their Therapeutic Benefits https://rootinnature.ca/guide-to-sensory-plants-their-therapeutic-benefits/
This blog post was written by Cara Caudle MEd, BASc, RECE.
Cara Caudle is a Certified Forest School Practitioner, Faculty of Early Childhood Education with First Nations Technical Institute, and Director of Childhood Connect. She is passionate about early learning that takes place in connection with nature, holistic well-being, and meaningful relationships.
Be sure to check out Cara’s website, Childhood Connect, and follow her on social media @childhoodconnect.
Share your sesnory garden journey, or what you’re interested to try by leaving a comment below!