Tuesday, January 3, 2012
The Garden of Five Senses
Throughout history mankind has been enamored with gardens. With the increasing complexity of today’s world, the garden becomes a perfect place to unwind from rather taxing and demanding lifestyles. And the popularity of public gardens, which are supreme examples of gardening perfection, allows each and everyone to experience the joy a garden affords.
Sensory gardens call to the five senses... sight and smell, hearing, touch and taste. Recognizing the need for relaxation, Delhi Development directors in India created the Garden of Five Senses for a weary public. Open in 2003, the garden is called Khas Bagh and was inspired by the ancient Bagh-e Babur Gardens in Kabul, Afghanistan which were built to house the shrine of Muhammad Babur. Babur who died in 1528 was a descendant of the infamous Genghis Kahn and was responsible for the expansion of Persian literature and artistry. He was particularly fond of gardens and the one in Kabul was painstakingly restored and opened for visitors in 2005.
Unlike American theme parks which excite, Khas Bagh was created to create a calm and peaceful experience for visitors. It contains extraordinary examples of both common and exotic plants, supreme collections of water lilies, wind chimes which tinkle and charm, sculpture, and delicacies to taste. Visitors leave relaxed and uplifted.
Here we celebrate the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, which opened in June of 2007. It took dedicated visionaries and volunteers 16 years of planning, planting and building to complete this magnificent project. The original directors purchased 128 acres of pristine land with tidal shore frontage in Boothbay, using their owns homes as collateral. In 2005, an additional 120 adjacent acres were donated, making it the largest botanical garden in New England.
Part of the garden was the privately financed by the Lerner family and their ‘Garden of the Five Senses‘ opened in June of 2009. There is an abundance of features designed to appeal to each sense, however the garden is truly respectful to those who have a limited sense of sight. To assist the visually impaired, striker stones border the paths, a map of the garden is in Braille and large pictorial representations are located at the entrance arch. The plantings, sculptural elements, water features, bridge, and classroom pavilion are arranged to appeal to the 5 senses.
For those of us with small gardens, planning a sensory garden might help ease winter boredom a bit. Plan on some fragrant, colorful flowers, some sort of trickling water and tinkling wind chimes... then remember to taste the tiny first-drop nectar from the Honeysuckle blooms.