Starting a Sensory Garden for Young Learners
There’s something deeply grounding about watching a child run their fingers through lavender, gently press a mint leaf to their nose, or widen their eyes in awe as a sunflower stretches tall toward the sky. Sensory gardens offer these kinds of moments—experiences that invite children to connect with the natural world through their whole body.
A sensory garden is more than a pretty collection of plants. It’s an intentional space that engages touch, smell, sight, taste, and sound to help children explore the rhythms of nature in an embodied, meaningful way. For young learners, this kind of hands-on connection is how learning sticks. When their bodies are involved—when they can feel the fuzziness of a lamb’s ear leaf or listen to the rustle of tall grasses—they don’t just learn about plants. They develop a relationship with them.
Whether you’re in a backyard, on a balcony, or using a single sunny windowsill, a sensory garden is absolutely possible—and incredibly valuable—for children of all ages.
Why Sensory Gardens Matter in Early Childhood
Nature connection begins with the senses. Before children understand ecosystems or photosynthesis, they understand what it feels like to brush against rosemary or what it smells like when rain hits warm soil. Sensory gardens bring this connection to life.
THEY SUPPORT WHOLE-BODY LEARNING | When children use multiple senses to explore something, it creates stronger neural pathways and deeper understanding.
THEY GROUND CHILDREN IN THE PRESENT MOMENT | Sensory experiences offer a natural invitation to slow down, breathe deeply, and notice.
THEY FOSTER CURIOSITY AND WONDER | The more sensory invitations a child has, the more likely they are to ask questions, investigate, and observe.
THEY ARE ACCESSIBLE AND ADAPTABLE | Whether you have a large garden plot or a tiny apartment window, sensory gardens can meet you right where you are.
How to Start a Sensory Garden (Anywhere!)
You don’t need a big backyard or special materials to start a sensory garden.
You don’t need raised beds, expensive tools, or a perfectly curated plan.
What you do need is something far more meaningful—a willingness to slow down and see the natural world through your child’s eyes. A willingness to let go of perfection, to notice the small things, to invite your child into the wonder of watching something grow.
Whether it’s a single pot on a windowsill or a few herbs in a recycled container, what matters most is creating space for your child to engage with nature in a way that’s hands-on, sensory-rich, and rooted in presence.
This is where connection begins—not in the size of the space, but in the care we bring to it.
ONE | Choose Your Space Thoughtfully
Sensory gardens can grow in:
Raised beds or garden plots
Balcony planters or railing baskets
Windowsills with sunlight
Reused containers (mugs, jars, tin cans, etc.)
Let go of the idea that a sensory garden has to be big or perfectly curated. A small pot of basil on a windowsill is a beautiful start.
TWO | Select Plants That Engage the Senses
The goal is to create a space where children can see, smell, touch, taste, and hear the natural world. Choose a mix of plants that invite interaction.
Touch:
Lamb’s ear (soft and fuzzy)
Succulents (thick, smooth leaves)
Grasses or bamboo (rustling texture and sound)
Smell:
Lavender
Rosemary
Mint
Lemon balm
Sight:
Sunflowers
Marigolds
Nasturtiums
Kale or rainbow chard (bright, colorful leaves)
Taste:
Basil
Strawberries
Peas
Edible flowers (like pansies or nasturtiums)
Sound:
Wind chimes
Tall grasses
Bamboo or hollow stems
Let children help choose what you grow.
Take them with you to the nursery or let them flip through seed catalogs and pick out a few favorites. Ask them what smells they love, what colors catch their eye, or which herbs they’d like to taste. You might be surprised by their choices—and that’s part of the beauty.
When children are involved in the planning, they feel a sense of ownership. It’s no longer just your garden—it becomes our garden, something co-created and cared for together. Their excitement about planting “their” seeds or checking on “their” mint plant turns into daily curiosity and connection.
This sense of investment helps them stay engaged in the entire process, from planting to harvesting, and fosters a deeper, more lasting relationship with the natural world.
THREE | Involve Children in Every Step
This isn’t just a grown-up project—it’s a shared experience.
Invite children to:
Scoop the soil and plant the seeds
Smell the herbs and guess what they are
Taste safe leaves and fruits
Water the plants and notice changes
Harvest, compost, and replant
When children are active participants in the garden, it becomes so much more than just a place to observe nature—it becomes a space they feel connected to, responsible for, and proud of.
When they dig the holes, press the seeds into the soil, water the sprouts, and return each day to check for growth, they begin to see themselves as caretakers. They notice small changes, celebrate new leaves, and mourn when a plant wilts. It becomes personal.
They aren’t just visitors in the garden—they’re co-creators.
This sense of ownership builds confidence and encourages them to care more deeply, not only about the plants but about the space as a whole. They begin to see their efforts matter. They remember which herb they planted, point out how tall their sunflower has grown, or tell visitors which part of the garden is “theirs.”
Through that participation, the garden becomes a living extension of themselves—a space where they feel important, capable, and truly at home.
FOUR | Use the Garden as a Daily Invitation
You don’t have to have a formal “lesson” to use a sensory garden well.
Let it become part of your daily rhythm:
Visit the garden every morning to check on growth
Let children pick herbs to smell and use in cooking
Use leaves and petals in art or nature journaling
Sit quietly and listen to the sounds around the garden
The more your child engages with the garden—the more they touch the soil, smell the herbs, watch the bees, and listen to the rustling leaves—the deeper their connection to the natural world becomes.
When children return to the same garden space day after day, they begin to notice the small things: how the leaves fold in during the rain, how the color of a flower changes as it opens, how the smell of basil grows stronger in the sun. They start to form memories in that space. It becomes a place of comfort, familiarity, and wonder.
Over time, the garden becomes more than a place to grow plants—it becomes a place where children grow a sense of belonging in the natural world.
A space where they’re not separate from nature but part of it. Where caring for a seedling feels just as natural as playing or reading a book. This kind of repeated, meaningful engagement is what plants the seeds of lifelong connection and respect for the earth..
Books to Pair with Your Sensory Garden
Bringing stories into the garden extends the learning even further. Here are some lovely children’s books that align with garden themes:
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots by Sharon Lovejoy
Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn
And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano
Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals
These stories open the door to conversations about growing things, the seasons, soil health, and the joy of caring for something living.
When the Senses Are Engaged, Nature Sticks
One of the best ways to nurture a love for nature in children is to let them experience it with their whole selves. A sensory garden isn’t about having the perfect setup or knowing every plant name. It’s about building a relationship—between a child and the soil, the sunlight, the seed that becomes a flower.
When a child’s senses are engaged, they don’t just learn about nature. They remember how it felt. How it smelled. How it tasted. That’s the kind of learning that stays with them. That’s the kind of connection we want to cultivate.
And the best part?
It doesn’t take a lot.
Just a little light, a few containers, some soil, and your attention. The rest—growth, wonder, connection—will come.
So many educators and parents have told me that simply having someone to talk things through with—someone who gets it and has been there—makes all the difference.
And I’d love to be that person for you.
