When life gets overwhelming, it’s essential to rest, relax, and recharge. Designing a space in your backyard dedicated to wellness is a great way to connect with nature and care for yourself. You can go all out with these ideas, or pick and choose some small changes for your yard; even the simplest things to help us ground and calm our minds can make a big difference in our daily lives.
A Space for Privacy
We’re connected all the time on social media, at work, and with family; sometimes, a little privacy in your backyard is just what you need to recharge. Create privacy with trellises and climbing vines, tall fountain grass, or hedges and ornamental trees. Once you have some privacy, you can let your emotions flow, enjoy the quiet, and do whatever feels good for your soul.
A Space for Conversation
Sometimes a good conversation with a trusted friend or family member makes for excellent stress relief. Get started by featuring plants or decorations that express your personality and get the conversation going. You could have a rare tropical plant that you’re growing in your backyard for the summer or a piece of garden artwork that you found at a market.
A Space for Manifestation
Some believe that plants have the power to attract things into your life. Whether you believe this or not, sometimes having the reminder of what plants symbolize is a brain hack to keep you focused on what you want to foster in your life! Try adding these plants to your backyard sanctuary for manifestation:
- Palms or peace lilies for prosperity
- Herbs and coneflower for health
- Bleeding hearts for love
- English ivy for serenity
A Space for Meditation
Gardens are the ultimate space to find inner peace. Create a meditation garden or corner in your backyard, complete with lots of foliage plants for minimum distraction, and all of the comfort of nature. Try adding caladiums, cannas, or hostas to your sanctuary space for stunning foliage that will help you feel connected with nature without distracting you from a peaceful meditation.
A Space for the Senses
A great way to tackle an onset of anxiety is to focus on things you can see, touch, smell, hear, and taste. Creating a space full of sensory stimuli in your backyard is an excellent way to relax, reset, and calm your mind from a busy day or stressful circumstances.
- For sight, consider adding different colours to your garden that will help add the right energy you want to create. Blue is a calming colour, and purple is creative, while yellow is happy, and orange is invigorating; add whichever colour suits your intention to create a space for recharging and relaxation.
- For touch, try adding textured plants to your space, such as lamb’s ear or fountain grasses. Their soft textures provide a satisfying stimulation that can help calm your mind and get your nervous system focusing on something other than your busy brain!
- For smell, try adding fragrant flowers to your backyard, like garden phlox, lavender, lilacs, or gardenia. Smell is closely associated with memory, so if you can connect these smells to relaxation, you might find yourself settling with just a sniff of these fragrant flowers in the future!
- For hearing, try adding a small water feature, wind chimes, or bird feeders to your backyard (so you can listen to them chirp!); whatever sounds you find soothing, add them into your sanctuary space for ultimate relaxation.
- For taste, grow fresh herbs that will smell divine to relax by and taste great! Fresh sprigs of lemon verbena or peppermint make excellent tea, perfect for calming your mind and relieving stress.
For more ideas to transform your space into a sanctuary in Alberta, visit Salisbury Greenhouse. Our locations in Sherwood Park and St. Albert have a wide selection of plants that will help you create a wellness sanctuary in your backyard.
