Fountain at Carolyn S. Stolman Healing Garden, San Francisco, CA
Ever since someone contacted me looking for information on gardens for the blind, I’ve been meaning to write a post about sensory gardens. I’ll write more about this subject soon, but for now here’s a nice article from the Washington Post to get you started. Above is an image of a lovely interior courtyard at a cancer care center in San Francisco designed by Topher Delaney. The courtyard has a couple of bubbling fountains and a variety of scented plants that are are also symbolic for their use as medicinal herbs for treating cancer. Note that because cancer patients are so sensitive to smell, it’s best to use plants that release their scent most when touched (like lavender and thyme) rather than something like jasmine that might overwhelm.
“Garden Beauty That the Eye Can’t Behold,” by Joel M. Lerner for the Washington Post (12/20/08, p. F05) article about sensory gardens – gardens that delight beyond sight; some nice ideas for plants and water features that stimulate the senses.