Creating a sensory garden is a wonderful way to go about bringing your outdoor spaces to life and there’s a huge amount of choice available in terms of planting, whether you want to prioritise touch, taste, sight or smell… or all four!
If it’s touch you’d like to focus on, there are so many amazing textured plants to consider that you may well struggle to pick your favourites. To help you get started, here are just a couple of our favourites here at LW Landscapes. Enjoy!
Angel wings
Senecio candidans, shining-white ragwort
One beautiful addition to your sensory garden would be shining-white ragwort, a really striking plant with incredibly large silvery white leaves that have a velvety soft texture. It will do especially well in a hot and sunny spot and will become drought tolerant once fully established, so great for anyone keen to be more eco-friendly with their gardening as well!
Silver carpet
Stachys byzantina, lamb’s ear
If you’re looking for something textural to serve as excellent ground cover, what about silver carpet, also known as lamb’s ear. This is famed for its thick, soft grey-white elliptic leaves and works really well in sunny borders or planted underneath roses.
It’s fast growing, works well in practically any soil and is drought resistant, thanks to its Turkish, Iranian and Armenian origins.
Himalayan balsam
Impatiens glandulifera, touch-me-not
For something a little exciting, you could consider investing in some Himalayan balsam, a very pretty annual plant with scented pink and purple flowers. When touched, these flowers explode, scattering the seeds far and wide – up to 23m away from the parent plant, in fact!
Note, however, that this is an invasive plant and if you choose to cultivate it intentionally, control measures can be ordered by your local environmental authority.