Gardens offer much to offer to soothe us

A method often recommended to help people reduce their stress and worry levels, especially when they are feeling a little panicky, is to 'ground' themself in their five senses. One technique is along the lines of 'What are five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste right now?' This is aimed at concentrating one's attention to the present moment and thus away from dispiriting memories from the past, or gloomy forebodings about the future - and soothing the mind back into a sense of safety and contentment. This practice can be useful for anybody wishing to inhabit the present moment - the only one we actually have - more often.

Everything in the garden is deserving of close observation

Everything in the garden is deserving of close observation

Those of us who are lucky enough to have access to a garden - no matter how large or small - have a wonderful advantage if using this exercise, because we always have an instant portal to an everchanging world that is incredibly rich in sensory input, whenever we step outside our door. Visual experiences are the most obvious: we have new growth, buds, branches, bark, flowers and leaves to look at intently, with seemingly infinite colours, patterns, shapes and sizes. We can examine the intricate detail that exists in any single flower or leaf. Using a magnifying glass for this purpose opens up another vast dimension of what we can see. Insects, birds or creatures such as lizards are also ready objects of our attention, with their beautiful hues and forms. Sunlight and shadows, and brilliant blue skies or fluffy white clouds are also fantastic objects of attention! I also love to spy the pale white moon when it appears in the sky in the daytime during its cycle. Looking at the spaces between things can be just as interesting as looking at the objects themselves, a concept known as 'ma' in Japanese.

Bees add sound to the garden

Bees add sound to the garden

The auditory dimension is also richly served by our gardens. From the melancholic warbling of magpies, the sweet song of butcher birds and the noisy squabbling of lorikeets, to the soothing (to me, anyway!) buzzing of bees as they investigate what our blooms have to offer, life in the garden gives plenty to listen to. The rustling of the wind in the trees or the sound of dry leaves skittering across paths provide a gentle focus. Beyond the garden, dogs barking, children playing, cars passing ... all are often part of the soundscape of the world outside.

Stachys byzantine is very tactile

Stachys byzantine is very tactile

Tactile experiences are easy to find in the garden. Foliage provides myriad textures - from the slickly smooth leaves of Camellia, the soft furry 'lambs ears' of Stachys byzantina, to the thickly quilted foliage of Justicia carnea and the caress of a dainty maidenhair fern. Other textures in my garden include the elephant-hide feel of bark on a Jacaranda tree and the spikiness of a Liquidambar seedpod underfoot! The feeling of a breeze or sunlight or even raindrops on your face or arms as you sit in a garden are other physical sensations potentially to savour.

Buddleja Pink Delight has perfumed flowers

Buddleja Pink Delight has perfumed flowers

The olfactory sense is also well served by our gardens. So many flowers and leaves have lovely scents - just a few to mention are the haunting fragrance of Daphne flowers in winter, the honeyed aroma of Buddleja blooms and the evocative perfumes released by brushing the foliage of the so-called of 'scented-leaf geraniums' - actually a type Pelargonium, which include lemon, ginger, peppermint, nutmeg and rose varieties. It is a joy to be able sniff these as one walks around the garden with a leaf in one's hand. I also - perhaps bizarrely - love the smell of compost and often grab a handful of it from my heap for a quick whiff.

Mentha x piperita, Argyle Inn, Taralga NSW

Mentha x piperita, Argyle Inn, Taralga NSW

The final sense is taste, and the garden can come up trumps here too, if you happen to grow a few edibles in your garden - whether they be herbs such as parsley or mint, or some vegetable crops you can sample. Nasturtium leaves are edible and provide a tang. During winter and spring, I find great satisfaction in plucking a snow pea from the vine growing on my trellis and enjoying its fresh flavour and texture.

Tuning in to our senses in our gardens is one of the greatest pleasures of gardening. We are the luckiest people in the world to have a way of countering stress and worry by simply walking outside. But there are also many other ways gardening contributes to our wellbeing, as I have discussed in this blog.