Plant List: Sensory Garden
The CSA where my family gets our veggies and dairy, Brookfield Farm, is expanding their accessible garden. I wanted to share the starter list of plants for a sensory garden, which I compiled to spark their creativity at their first planning meeting. Some of these plants would also be fun in a garden for children, because they appeal to senses of touch and smell, as well as having eye-catching, bright colors. Enjoy!
Unless otherwise noted, all perennials are native to North America (many to New England), hardy to zone 5, drought tolerant, and low-maintenance. Many of the red flowers will be butterfly-attractive.
Perennials
| Latin | Common | Notes |
| Achillea millefolium | Yarrow | Red/yellow, long bloomer |
| Artemesia | Wormwood | Fragrant, fuzzy leaves; *poisonous* |
| Ascelpias tuberosa | Butterfly-weed | Seedpods explode into soft floss |
| Clematis ‘Sweet Autumn’ | Non-native climber, fragrant | |
| Comptonia peregrina | Sweetfern | Fragrant, foliage plant |
| Echinacea hybrids ‘Tomato Soup’, ‘Sunrise’, ‘Sundown’ | Coneflower | Red/yellow, fragrant, cones for texture |
| Meehania cordata | Mountain mint | Fragrant groundcover |
| Monarda ‘Jacob Cline’ | Bee-balm | Red, fragrant |
| Rudbeckia nitida | Black-eyed Susan | Yellow, cones for texture |
| Sedum telephoides/ nevii/ ternatum | Stonecrop | Succulent leaves for texture; winter structure |
| Solidago rugosa | Goldenrod | Excellent value for pollinators |
| Stachys byzantina | Lambs’ Ear | Thick,fuzzy leaves; deer-resistant; non-native |
Annuals
| Amaranthus caudatus | Love-lies-bleeding | Velvety flower spikes |
| Brugmansia | Angel Trumpet | Fragrant; can be overwintered indoors if grown in a pot, *poisonous* |
| Pennesetum ‘Rubrum’ | Purple Fountain Grass | Fluffy seedheads |
| Petunia | Petunia | Fragrant |
| Tagetes’ Inca Yellow’, ‘Safari Red’ | Marigolds | Fragrant |