The main function here is to provide a range of plants that, once established will provide a variety of textural sensory interest throughout the year.

The Pinus has a rigid, slightly prickly feel, whereas the Cryptomeria is soft and feathery, along with the grass flowers. The Stachys is soft and furry, the Hylotelephium is fleshy and waxy and the Deschampsia is wiry. 

In addition, the Stachys helps to cover bare soil, protecting the soil surface, suppressing weeds and reducing soil moisture loss by reducing soil surface evaporation.

Using an organic mulch, preferably homemade compost, while the plants establish can help to provide the same benefits. Mulches should be spread when the soil is already moist to help trap some of that moisture before it dries out in summer.
 

1 - Pinus x schwerinii ‘Wiethorst’

2 - Verbena bonariensis

3 - Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans Compacta’

4 - Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldschleier’

5 - Sanguisorba tenuifolia ‘Stand Up Comedian’  

5 - Hylotelephium x mottramianum ‘Herbstfreude’

7 - Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’

2 - Verbena bonariensis is a tall herbaceous perennial with branched clusters of small lilac-purple flowers held atop tall, upright, sparsely leafed stems from summer to autumn.

3 - Cryptomeria japonica ‘Elegans Compacta’ is a bushy evergreen conifer with soft, tactile blue-green young foliage that turns purple in winter.

4 - Deschampsia cespitosa ‘Goldschleier’ is an evergreen grass with dark bluish green leaves. It has long-lasting golden-yellow flowers with a silvery sheen from late spring to summer.

5 - Sanguisorba tenuifolia ‘Stand Up Comedian’ is a herbaceous perennial with red-brown steams bearing foliage consisting of pairs of serrated leaflets, and a profusion of hanging, bottlebrush-like, fluffy white flower-heads from late summer to autumn.

6 - Hylotelephium x mottramianum ‘Herbstfreude’ is a herbaceous perennial with fleshy, waxy green leaves and large flat terminal clusters of starry pink flowers that dry out to brown seedheads that persist through winter.

7 - Stachys byzantina ‘Silver Carpet’ is an evergreen ground cover perennial that forms a dense mat of very soft, velvety grey-white ‘Lamb’s Ear’ leaves.

Sensory planting is designed to stimulate the senses of smell, sound, taste and touch, as well as sight. It tempts a visitor to view plants at close range, to reach out and touch, to inhale a fragrance, to listen to gentle sounds, and to actively experience the garden with all their senses.

After experiencing plants by touch always ensure your hands are washed.

By choosing plants that are good for senses, you can improve mood and a general wellbeing of visitors. The sensory attributes of these plants allow people to engage with the environment around them in a way that is meaningful and beneficial to their mind and body.