Serenity gardens

“Every­thing that slows us down and forces patience, every­thing that sets us back into the slow cir­cles of nature, is a help. Gar­den­ing is an instru­ment of grace.”

— May Sarton

I began my quest for seren­ity in my gar­den more than 25 years ago. Con­sen­sus deemed me a “Type A” per­son­al­ity and just a lit­tle bit high-strung, except when I worked in the yard. Even when I cut the grass I found a peace came over me. I am not very good a relax­ing so this was a real rev­e­la­tion for me. Over the years I have incor­po­rated dif­fer­ent ameni­ties that add to the ambi­ence in my gar­den. You can cre­ate a spe­cial place all your own.

Spend some time in your yard to eval­u­ate what fea­tures you already have, then find a place to sit. Almost any spot will do. Benches, tables and chairs, and even a tree stump can be used to relax and take inven­tory of the new growth of the plants and trees. Decide on which area of your yard is most com­fort­able and peace­ful to you, then begin to look for plants that add to your landscape.

When choos­ing plants, select a diverse group for their foliage, color, size, shape, and scent. While relax­ing, the scent of famil­iar plants can bring a sense of peace. If you add grasses you may catch the rustling sound on a windy day. You can fea­ture fruit trees or blos­som­ing plants. A fra­grant herb gar­den with laven­der and rose­mary to start, can be used to make calm­ing, heal­ing teas.

The idea of color sen­si­tiv­ity has been around for a long time. Choose the col­ors that pro­vide sim­plic­ity and calm­ing effects. We think of green and white as a cool, calm, and refresh­ing com­bi­na­tion . The inter­play of var­ie­gated green and white plants are a good match for a tran­quil set­ting. Cre­ate a har­mony of color to blend with nature or a soft gray foliage.

Next, you should select a focal point placed in the cen­ter of your seren­ity gar­den. Foun­tains, bridges, paths, bird baths and gar­den stat­ues all can add to the inter­est of the seren­ity gar­den. Foun­tains as a focal point can be inte­grated into the gar­den in a way that cre­ates inter­est with­out distraction.

I think scent is a great delight in the air, but not too strong a scent for your gar­den. While peo­ple dif­fer in their sense of what smells pleas­ant, I think you can steer clear of cimi­cifuga, cleome or privet. There are some plants that have a uni­ver­sal pop­u­lar­ity, includ­ing lilacs, roses and laven­der. In your own gar­den you will have to decide what aro­mather­apy works best for your heart and mind. Peonies, with their fresh sweet smell remind me of my child­hood and allow me to rem­i­nisce of days of yesteryear.

Include a sound ele­ment by adding chimes. They come in a vari­ety of lengths, shapes, and sounds. Some you can buy at a rea­son­able price and oth­ers are just out­ra­geous. Find a happy medium and dis­play them in your gar­den to speak to you on a breezy day. The addi­tion of a water ele­ment can add another layer of tran­quil sound.

Your seren­ity gar­den will be a place where you can retreat to escape the elec­tronic world — includ­ing cell­phones — in which we live. Any part of the gar­den can become a place of peace and reflec­tion, and it can be ded­i­cated to a feel­ing of soli­tude and renewal. I hope these ideas inspire you to cre­ate a seren­ity gar­den of your own. Just remem­ber what­ever choices you make, you own it and it belongs to you.

Dianne Geli­nas is an OSU Exten­sion Mas­ter Gar­dener volunteer.

Posted by Master Gardener on Mar 17 2012. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Comments can be made below.