Sensory Garden for Occupational Therapy and Improving Quality of Life

Abstract

A sensory garden is a self-contained garden or garden area that has a collection of plants that are appealing to one or more of the five senses. The major senses like sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch; are mainly enhanced in these kinds of gardens so that people of various ages can benefit from it and it can act as a therapy. This kind of garden has also been reported to be an amazing way for young people to explore their senses and learn about their surroundings and the people suffering from dementia and children requiring special needs. In both cases, it has proved to improve their overall health and decreased their agitation level to normal. The idea behind the sensory garden design was that the gardens should aim to stimulate users' senses and improve their physical abilities. These types of gardens have a huge impact on people's mental and physical health and it helps in improving their way of living as well. In this review paper, the elements and benefits of the sensory garden and its scenario in India have been discussed in detail.