PROPERTY COLUMN - A truly successful garden is much more than what meets the eye. Helen Keller was blind and deaf, but found great joy in experiencing her garden through her senses of smell, taste and touch. "I feel the delightful, velvety texture of a flower, and discover its remarkable convolutions, and something of the miracle of nature is revealed to me," she said.

The visual appeal of your garden is important, but involves more than just colourful plants. 

Other visual elements such as the varied shapes and textures of plants and other elements contribute to the beauty of a landscape, while the creation of interesting illusions of depth and space will also add to the experience. Subtle illumination at night and even the graceful movement of plants in the wind will also be pleasing to the eye. But, your garden will only come fully to life when it speaks to all your senses.

• Does your garden make an impact on your sense of hearing? When you close your eyes, can you hear the singing of birds or the tinkling of running water? The crunch of gravel underfoot when you stroll through the garden, or the rustling of leaves in the wind can be a wonderful treat to the ears.
• Does your garden stimulate your sense of smell? Crushing fresh herbs in your hands or underfoot and inhaling the fragrance of a jasmine can be a real delight to the senses.
• The rich colours and textures of home-grown vegetables and edible herbs will appeal to your sense of taste and can have the same aesthetic appeal as other plants normally used in a landscape.
• Does your garden appeal to your sense of touch? Plants with different textures that you can touch or brush against will add to the overall enjoyment of your garden.
• Extrasensory perception, or our sixth sense, plays an important role. Is there a therapeutic space in your garden where you can relax or meditate and where your soul can recuperate? Does your garden evoke positive emotions?

In following weeks we will take an in-depth look at how you can get more joy out of your garden by designing it to appeal to all your senses.

You can e-mail Ben at benroos7@gmail.com.

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