Genesis of a Sensory Garden: Designing a Place for Everyone

Horticultural therapy workshops have been conducted at Oklahoma State University for many years.  However, instructors lacked adequate facilities to offer an accompanying laboratory section.   In order to address this need, a sensory garden was ultimately constructed as a result of funding from the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council (ODDC). The sensory garden, approximately 6000 sq. ft., was designed with a “gathering room” (meeting room frequented by all visitors before dispersing to individual sensory rooms) and five additional rooms each designed to showcase  the five human senses; taste, touch, hear,  smell and sight.  Any given sense was represented by both labeled plant materials and also interactive elements such as a fountain, kaleidoscope and other features.   Each room also has its own interpretive signage suggesting plant materials known to enhance or interact well with the respective sensory modality.   Sensory garden walls, walkways, etc. were constructed as per American with Disability Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG). Besides listening sessions, garden personnel elicited input from a wide range of people with varying abilities and disabilities to gain unique perspective(s) to further bolster credibility and practicality of design and subsequent usage. With the advent of the OSU Sensory Garden, a myriad of outreach opportunities can now be realized.  Besides formal workshops, sensory garden personnel designed the sensory garden via signage and other visual and textural cues to enable self-guided tours which have proven to be the norm for everyday use of the facilities.  Due to the nature of specific plant materials and other features within, the OSU sensory garden is open to the public year round with noteworthy features for all four seasons.  Future opportunities such as outreach activities and potential enhancement features of the sensory garden will be discussed.