Cultivating the Senses

Steve Brown reaches up and slowly runs his fingers across the row of potted plants along his patio wall. He touches a shrimp plant, kalanchoe, society garlic and a rare verbascum with leaves as big as his hand and a texture as downy and soft as lambs’ ears.

“I look for real hardy plants to grow and ones I can see with my fingers without bruising the flowers,” he says. “I stay away from things like roses or gardenias.”

Brown, who is almost completely blind, gardens by touch, smell, sound and taste.

When he’s tending his orchids, he can tell the difference between foliage and a flower spike when only an inch of the shoot is up.

“It feels different. It’s a little fatter,” he says of the orchids’ flower spike. “I tell my wife, Coleen, ‘That’s going to be a blossom stalk,’ and she thinks, ‘No, it isn’t.’ ”

Two months later, there it is, full of blooms.

Brown’s Laguna Niguel garden is a place where puckered leaves fan out like peacock feathers and silky plumes tickle open palms. There’s the

heady aroma of spice, musk, lemon and nectar.

This is the foundation of the visually impaired’s “enabled” garden--a kaleidoscope of texture, shape and scent. It’s here that one learns to “see” with the senses and discover the soul of the garden, a place of tranquillity.

Despite their challenges, visually impaired gardeners have rewarding experiences, says Ruth Merkle, teacher of the Sensory Garden at the Braille Institute in Anaheim.

“As my students discover, they can

perform basic home gardening skills and more,” Merkle says. “I work with each individual’s ability. We start by learning about good soil, how to plant, fertilize and even how to water.”

The Braille Institute Sensory Garden is filled with textured plants such as maidenhair fern, Dicksonia Antarctica fern, baby bulrushes and heavenly bamboo.

There also are fragrant choices such as saucer magnolia, orange Jessamine, English lavender and grandiflora roses.

For students with some amount of visual perception, there are plants with bright colors such as ixora and red-eyed vinca. A nearby table boasts

potted herbs that students identify by smell and taste.

Not only do enabled gardeners become attuned to the subtleties of texture and scent, they enjoy the benefits of better balance, dexterity and stamina through the physical exercise gardening provides, says Lois Schmitt, activities coordinator at the Corona del Mar Senior Oasis Center, one of 50 outreach programs of the Braille Institute.

“I tell my students, you can do just about anything you used to do. It’s just going to take longer and require more concentration,” Schmitt says. “They do just fine and love it. Students learn by feel to work the soil, dig and set in plants and firm the dirt around the roots.”

One of the greatest challenges for blind gardeners is maintenance.

“Removing dead or diseased leaves and pruning is difficult,” says Brown, who began gradually losing his sight at an early age due to a rare genetic disorder. He still has some light perception. “I have a hard time discerning when a certain plant needs tidying or has become overgrown. I rely on my wife to tell me.”

Another problem, Brown says, is trying to garden in open ground. “I find in-ground planting much more difficult. I tend to step on and crush things when I’m working.”

Instead, Brown has about 40 off-the-ground containers, making the plants easier to care for. He has grouped his containers according to plants’ watering needs and sun or shade requirements.

Jane Peery of Downey, whose sight has gradually diminished over the last 20 years, has less of a problem with planting in the ground.

“I’ve been sighted, and that has helped me,” says Peery, whose eyesight began to deteriorate when she was a child. She describes the amount of vision she still has as “three fingers at 3 feet.”

“I can’t see the weeds until they’re up to my knees,” she says, laughing. “But being outside and getting things like tomatoes, blueberries and dahlias to grow is a tremendous challenge. And when you’ve overcome the obstacles and win, you feel you’ve really done something.”

Peery’s biggest concern is that something has bloomed and she’s missed it.

“The other day a spike of orchids was open and another was full of buds and both needed staking. If I hadn’t walked the gardens that day and taken the time to be up close and look at them, the flowers would have bloomed without my enjoying them.”

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An important consideration for people with vision impairments is allowing the focus of the garden to change with their needs.

“Instead of the vegetable gardens I used to enjoy, I seem to have evolved to fragrant flowers like narcissus and lavender and more rare and exotic touchy-feely kinds of plants,” Brown says. “Now I grow elephant-foot palm, Peruvian tree cactus, cymbidium orchids and my collection of staghorn ferns--things that bring me the same pleasure the vegetable garden used to.”

Wearing gloves in the garden cuts down on the tactile enjoyment of plants, so Brown, like many blind gardeners, works without them. “I’ve read that when you lose your vision, that area of the brain is starving for input and somehow the tactile elements transfer over to please that center,” he says. “I just can’t think right with gloves on. When I’m in the garden and feeling plants, I’m actually seeing them. I think it’s the same reward that somebody else would get from looking at a plant they’re working with.”

Visually impaired children can also enjoy the benefits of gardening, says Kathy Goodspeed, school coordinator at the Blind Children’s Learning Center in Santa Ana.

“The public schools contract with us to give early intervention services because they don’t have specific programs for the visually impaired,” Goodspeed says. “Visual functioning and tactile tasks involving other senses--touch, smell, sound and taste--help children achieve their full potential before entering public school. We have sighted peers with all our children because they make wonderful models for communication.”

At the center’s garden, popular plants in the “touching garden” include herbs such as lamb’s ear because of its soft texture, basil and lavender for fragrance and plants with varying leaf shapes that also taste good, such as orange and lemon trees. Vegetables and fruits such as beans, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, watermelon and pumpkins are grown by volunteers and teachers, then discussed in the classroom, Goodspeed says.

“We then have them touch and taste what we’re discussing to help make the connection. Children learn to do simple seed planting in small pots of dirt, the teacher assisting with a hand-over-hand method,” she says.

There are a variety of ways the visually impaired gardener can optimize the experience. Some suggestions:

* Containers are an excellent way to raise the planting site for people who have difficulty gardening in the ground. Initially, large pots, barrels and planters may seem costly, but they become an important and permanent part of the garden design. Once planted, they retain moisture and, therefore, require less attention.

The main consideration is the size and shape of the container. It should be durable and roomy enough to allow for the intended growth over the next two to three years. The garden will evolve over time, and replacing containers should be minimized to save money and effort.

* Create an easily accessible grouping of potted plants with similar growing requirements. Place containers in their permanent site before they are filled with soil and become too cumbersome to move.

* For smaller plantings, pots made of plastic resembling terra cotta are lightweight, functional and don’t dry out as quickly as traditional clay varieties, Schmitt says.

* An intriguing effect can be achieved with an allee, which consists of containers planted in two long rows, creating a kind of pathway. The allee offers good accessibility and is perfect for dwarf or semi-dwarf fruit trees because they can be planted, fed, pruned and harvested with minimum effort.

Good tree choices include apple, Japanese pear, fig, kumquat, lemon, lime, nectarine, apricot, peach and orange.

* Raised beds are another planting option. Bear in mind that once in place, raised beds are permanent. Make sure beds are at an adequate level. A good working height is 30 inches for most gardeners. Shallow raised beds of about 24 inches with a lip for seating are helpful for the elderly and are easy on the back.

Beds that are too low, like railroad ties, can be hazardous to the visually impaired, causing them to trip. “A low bed is difficult to get down and work in,” Schmitt says.

* Trailing vines, sprawling vegetables and climbing flowers add dimension to the garden. Growing plants on trellises, supported structures or garden walls places them at a comfortable height and makes pruning, pinching back and harvesting within easy reach.

* Hanging baskets are another alternative and should be placed where they can be tended to, but at a height (chest-high is a good measure) and in an area that is safe for the gardener.

Double pulleys make raising and lowering plants much easier. As a safety measure, knots tied in each pulley prevent containers from lowering too quickly and causing injury.

* Make seeding easier by using small plastic seed counters found in most garden supply stores. These hand-held dispensers store the seeds and then release them for planting, one by one. Tossing seeds with kitchen flour also makes them easier to pick up.

* A planting guide created from a 4-inch-by-4-foot board cut with alternating deep and shallow notches every 6 inches (any lumberyard can do this) helps guide the visually impaired gardener.

Press the unnotched side into the soil to create furrows. For spacing and planting seeds, lay the board with its cut side next to the furrow, and drop in a seed at each notch, or depending on how far the plants are to be spaced.

* Repotting also can be challenging. “I instruct visually impaired students to repot a plant that has become root-bound by first filling the new pot with a little soil in the bottom until you get it at the right level,” Merkle says. “Leaving the plant to be repotted in its container, set it inside the new pot and fill all around the pot’s edges with more soil. Slowly remove the pot and tap out the plant. Drop the plant into the indentation you’ve just created and top it with a little more soil, then water.”

* A good watering system is essential for the enabled garden. Invest in several hoses and conveniently position them at sites throughout the garden, instead of trying to drag one long hose around. Extension hoses also can be connected to make less accessible areas easier to maintain.

Buy top-quality hoses that won’t kink and be a constant source of frustration. Keep hoses wound and hung on brackets attached to the outside walls or coiled in terra-cotta pots made for that purpose. Tell helpers never to leave hoses lying about after they’re done assisting in the garden.

Spiked hose guides placed throughout flower and vegetable beds keep hoses from being dragged across plants and damaging them. Guides should always be situated where they will not be tripped over.

* Automatic sprinklers are effective in established areas that require more constant attention. Soaker hoses, on the other hand, are great for areas that are difficult to get to or should not be watered from overhead. If possible, place faucets at a height range of about waist level.

* Long-handled aluminum wands are a must to make overhead watering easy and can be connected to hoses at strategic sites about the garden. A model with both a lock-on position for prolonged watering and a built-in shut-off valve works best.

* Paths and walkways help people navigate and become the bones of the garden. Paths need to be smooth, solid and level, with no low or rough edges. A rough-textured finish also is preferable so that when the walkway is wet, there is less possibility of slipping.

* Textural changes in paving materials can serve as orientation guides in the garden. Ornaments such as wind chimes, statues or benches also can help to orient, as well as provide aesthetic appeal. Place an urn on either side of the bench and fill with fragrant flowers or herbs such as lavender or rosemary to be touched and enjoyed.

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Senses

Below are suggestions for incorporating all the senses into the enabled garden.

* Texture. Foliage effects offer puckered, jagged, springy, feathery, ribbed, ruffled, spiky and velvety surfaces and shapes; petals of flowers such as ‘Icelandic’ poppies, iris, gladioli, water hyacinths and roses add the sensory experience of silk.

Ornamental grasses introduce a feeling of exoticism and permanency, their long-blooming tasseled seed heads and leaves adding a swaying and rustling appeal.

Sempervivums and succulents such as sedums give sculptural, tactile interest with clusters and tightly packed rosettes of leaves.

Tall, hardy, sensual flowers such as cannas, dahlias, gladioli and hollyhocks, grown in clumps, add dramatic leaf and flower presence.

* Color. For gardeners with partial sight, color contrast and hue intensity become an important element. Use strong colors, such as red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

Large white flowers such as dinner-plate dahlias, hydrangeas or hibiscus help create a strong contrast and are easier for the eye to distinguish.

Other contrasting color combinations include gold and green; purple, blue and orange; red or pink and green; and white and blue.

* Scent. Heavily perfumed flowers such as stock, jasmine, tuberose, nicotiana, stargazer lilies, sweet alyssum, paperwhite narcissus, sweet peas and petunias give the garden a heady bouquet. Datura, lavenders, lilac, damask roses and scented geraniums such as apple, rose, coconut, apricot, nutmeg and ginger add mystery.

Pungent herbs such as basil, rosemary, oregano, marjoram and lemon verbena add another dimension. Or try mint varieties such as chocolate, pineapple, spearmint and peppermint.

Try a lawn of fragrant foliage and flowers. Chamomile (Anthemis nobilis) creates a soft-textured mat of delicate, aromatic leaves and tiny yellow blossoms. Corsican mint (Mentha requienii) offers tiny, mint-scented leaves and purple summer blossoms.

Sources

* Braille Institute, 527 Dale Ave., Anaheim (714) 821-5000.

* Sherman Gardens provides docent-lead tours along easy-walk paths, as well as a self-guide in Braille for the entire garden. The Garden of Discovery, designed especially for the visually impaired. 2647 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. (949) 673-2261. Open daily, 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. $3. Mondays are free.

* “The Enabling Garden: Creating Barrier-Free Gardens,” a guide to creating gardens for the visually impaired and blind gardener by Gene Rothert (Taylor Publishing, Dallas, $12.95).

* The American Printing House for the Blind Inc. has listings of more than 135,000 titles in Braille, large print, sound recording and computer file formats. P.O. Box 6085, Louisville, KY 40206. (800) 223-1839 or visit its database of accessible materials at https://www.aph.org. Choose the link Search Louis. This access is free.

* Recordings for the Blind, a lending library of cassettes and special tape players. Cassette listing of more than 80,000 available titles. (800) 221-4792. First-year membership fee of $75. No charge for shipping or return of materials.

Titles in Braille

* “Pat Welsh’s Southern California Gardening,” a month-by-month approach to gardening in Southern California. Braille Institute, Los Angeles, (213) 663-1111. Eight-volume set, $210.

* “California Public Gardens: A Visitors Guide,” Braille Institute, Los Angeles, (213) 663-1111. Four-volume set, $134.

* “How Does My Garden Grow,” a children’s book on gardening by JoAnne Nelson. Helen Keller Services for the Blind, New York, (516) 485-1234, Ext. 244. $2.95.