Transforming Your Garden into a Tranquil Retreat: Insights from Skilled Landscape Designers
Transform your outdoor space into a tranquil haven that eases stress and blocks unwanted sounds with these design tips and strategies.
Minimize Noise Intrusion
Use dense, tall evergreen hedges or shrubs as natural sound barriers to block noise from neighbors or traffic while maintaining a natural aesthetic. Acoustic fence panels can be an option but may be costly and visually harsh.
Design for Simplicity and Calm
Embrace the Zen garden philosophy emphasizing simplicity, uncluttered spaces, and deliberate layout. Use raked gravel, smooth river stones, moss, and carefully placed plants to foster quiet and mental peace.
Create Enclosed, Intuitive Layouts
Plan your garden layout to include pathways, seating areas, and focal points where you can pause and relax. Enclosed or partially walled spaces help contain sound and give a sense of retreat.
Incorporate Soothing Natural Sounds
Instead of trying to eliminate all sound, introduce gentle water features or wind chimes to mask unwanted noise and provide calming background sounds.
Select Plantings that Soothe
Choose greenery that is visually soft and comforting—ferns, grasses, and even flowering plants with muted colors can enhance relaxation and distraction from external noise.
Consider Practical Site Factors
Assess your garden’s exposure to sun, wind, and moisture to select plants and materials that thrive, ensuring the sanctuary remains easy-care and pleasant year-round.
Intimate Spaces and Wildlife-Friendly Gardens
Holly Johnston recommends creating intimate spaces with vertical elements like a feature tree or climber-clad pergola for a sense of security and peace. Sargeant suggests making a garden as wildlife-friendly as possible to distract from unwanted sounds.
The Importance of Process Over Outcome
Gardens are ever evolving and never truly 'finished', advises Holly Johnston. Focusing on the process rather than the outcome can lead to a sense of joy and experimentation.
Colour and Hard Landscaping Considerations
Green is the most restful color, according to Kate Gould, and using a variety of shades of green in foliage can help create a tranquil haven. Keep hard landscaping simple and repeat elements to create a sense of cohesion.
Physical Exercise and Mental Wellbeing
Gardening physically exercises the body, releases endorphins, and has a positive impact on mental wellbeing, according to Juliet Sargeant. However, she warns against installing water features that sound like a cistern.
Aesthetic Considerations
Trellis panels can scream 'I'm hiding something' and painting a fence black creates a black hole and dates. Instead, consider using hedges within a garden, not just around the boundary, for seasonal interest or year-round formality.
Flow State and Stress Relief
Psychologists talk about a state called flow, where gardeners can switch off and forget their stresses for a few hours, says Juliet Sargeant. This state of mind is a testament to the stress-relieving power of a well-designed garden sanctuary.
- Utilize dense, tall evergreen hedges or shrubs as natural sound barriers to block noise from neighbors and traffic while maintaining a tranquil aesthetic.
- Adopt the Zen garden philosophy by designing simple, uncluttered spaces using raked gravel, smooth river stones, moss, and carefully placed plants to foster calm and mental peace.
- Plan an enclosed or partially walled garden layout with pathways, seating areas, and focal points for relaxation, creating a sense of retreat and limiting sound transmission.
- Incorporate gentle water features or wind chimes for calming background sounds but avoid installing loud water features that may resemble a cistern.
- Select relaxing plantings such as ferns, grasses, and flowering plants with muted colors to enhance tranquility and provide a distraction from external noise.
- Consider creating intimate spaces with vertical elements like a feature tree or climber-clad pergola, and make the garden wildlife-friendly to further distract from unwanted sounds. Gardens are ever evolving; focusing on the process of designing and growing plants can bring joy and experimentation. To create a visually restful and cohesive sanctuary, use a variety of shades of green in foliage, keep hard landscaping simple, and repeat elements. Ultimately, a well-designed garden sanctuary offers physical exercise, positive impact on mental wellbeing, and a chance to achieve the 'flow' state for stress relief.
