Dale Farm Sensory garden

With help from everyone at the farm, we have created a peaceful, accessible sensory garden for the people we support and our visitors.

Sensory gardens help people connect with nature. They can provide a calm, restorative space, encourage activity, and support therapeutic or educational programmes. Our garden brings together elements of each approach.

We experience the world through our senses, which shape the memories we carry with us. Engaging several senses can make an experience richer and more memorable. Through thoughtful design and careful attention to detail, a garden can become a feast for the senses.

• Touch: Explore plants and objects with varied, safe textures. Water features offer the sensation of cool water cascading over smooth, wet rocks.
• Sound: Hear grasses and plants rustle in the wind, while water features and small streams flow gently towards the pond.
• Taste: Sample herbs that awaken the taste buds, with appropriate supervision and plant knowledge.
• Smell: Enjoy the fragrance of flowers and herbs carried on the breeze or released by gently rubbing their leaves.
• Sight: Take in calming colours and the varied shapes of plants and leaves as you follow the garden path.

Accessibility and Layout

Working with the people we support, volunteers and staff, we agreed a clear vision for the garden. Before developing the detailed design, we planned its overall layout and accessibility. The garden follows a path leading to two reflective spaces: a seating area and a water feature.

Our workshop team did an outstanding job replacing the woodwork and rebuilding the garden’s main structures, including the bridges, fences and raised beds.

Finished garden

The garden has now become established, the streams have been relined, the plants and garden has become established and the garden is used by our farm family as a place to relax, reflect and invigorate the senses.