6 Ways to Create a Relaxing Garden

Looking for a way to create a relaxing garden? Add these 6 elements to your garden and take time to chill.

Why Create a Relaxing Garden?

After the garden chores are done, it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. After all, spending hours planting, weeding, fertilizing, picking bugs, deadheading, watering, ripping out plants and trying new ones is exhausting! That blood, sweat and tears brings a lot of gratification, but it’s important to step back and take it all in.

This article Dig into the Benefits of Gardening by the Mayo Clinic Health System explains the importance of gardening outdoors and how it improves overall health and lowers stress levels.

Want to turn your hardworking garden into a relaxing oasis? Add the following elements and enjoy your private sanctuary.

Add Fragrant Plants

Include plenty of scented plants in your garden to captivate your sense of smell and relax the mind. Here in South Carolina we are blessed with classic aromatic plants that will make you want to grab a glass of sweet tea and sit a spell.

My personal favorites are the Fragrant Tea Olive Tree (Osmanthus fragrans), Gardenia, Lavender, and Confederate Jasmine. I have all of these in my gardens and love when their fragrances catch on the breeze!

For more fragrant plant ideas, read my post How to Create an Enchanting Moon Garden where I detail all of my tips and suggestions and a list of over 25 plants perfect for a moon garden.

Include Sounds of Serenity

Appeal to your sense of sound in the garden. If you have the ability, add a water feature to your garden space. Enjoy the peacefulness of a water fountain or a koi pond. I even enjoy the simple sound of a lawn sprinkler.

Consider a wind chime on a porch or hanging from an ornamental tree.

I especially love the sound of pea gravel crunching when I walk on it.

Exhibit Garden Art

Art is not limited to the inside of your home. Add pieces to your garden, too.

Tuck a statue under a flowering plant.

Hang a happy sign on your shed.

Create stepping stones with little ones’ handprints.

Accessorize with seasonal favorites like a small wagon with pumpkins in the fall.

Attract Wildlife Visitors

To help create a relaxing garden, invite wildlife and really connect with nature.

Plant flowers to attract butterflies.

Place a few bird feeders nearby and watch birds visit your garden.

Add a couple of bird houses and a bird bath, too. Be strategic about the type of birds you want to attract and help control some of those pesky bugs while you’re at it!

While I grimace at the deer nibbling on my plants, I do love to see them strolling by peacefully.

Find A Place to Sit and Relax

Seating is a must-have for a relaxing garden.

Relax on a front porch swing to enjoy beautiful container plantings and surrounding gardens.

Add a bistro table to a garden area and sip a glass of wine at sunset. This is one of my favorite places to sit and relax.

Tuck a bench in a secret corner where you can read a book or magazine and smell the gardenia bushes.

Tie a rope swing from an old oak tree if that’s more your speed.

Sit. Be still. Listen. Relax.

Install Outdoor Lighting

Lighting is one of the best ways to make a garden relaxing and peaceful.

Hang string lights around a patio or fence line.

Line a garden path with solar lights.

Add landscape lighting to spotlight ornamental trees and illuminate sitting areas.

Consider adding a fire pit or tiki torches to bring a more natural ambience to your garden. The possibilities are endless when it comes to lighting.

I hope these ideas inspire you to go beyond just planting and maintaining a garden. Smell the fragrant flowers in bloom. Listen to the sounds and sights of nature. Enjoy little pieces of art hiding among the plants. Relax in the soft glow of your outdoor lighting while you sit and sip a beverage or read a book.

Cheers!