This quiet courtyard designed is a place to settle the nervous system. Most of the soil on the site is compacted clay, so nearly everything grows in containers and elevated beds. This makes the garden easier to care for, while also bringing plants closer to eye level, hands, and noses.

Clients and staff step into a space that invites them to slow down: leaves to touch, herbs to smell, water to listen to, and gentle rocking to soothe anxious bodies. There are spots for private conversations, quiet reflection, and simple creative activities that do not demand words. The garden feels small, held, and safe—a place to pause in the middle of very hard days.
 

Key Features

• Sensory Herb Garden: A mix of fragrant herbs and soft-textured plants for smelling, touching, and gently rubbing between fingers. A simple sensory input that can ground people when words are hard. 

• Edible Elevated Beds: Vegetables and herbs grow in tall, sturdy beds so clients and staff can reach them without kneeling or bending. Harvesting a tomato or sprig of basil becomes a small, achievable act of care.

• Rocking Chairs for Regulation: Comfortable rocking chairs offer rhythmic back-and-forth movement that can help calm the nervous system, ease muscle tension, and reduce anxiety. The motion is familiar, predictable, and quietly reassuring.

• Shaded Seating Nooks: Chairs and benches tucked into the shade give people places to cool down, rest, or talk privately with a support person while still feeling connected to the garden.

• Simple Creative Activities: A table and materials for stone-painting, drawing, or other light art projects offer an easy way to express feelings and stay present without pressure to talk.

• Fountain: A solar-powered fountain provides gentle water sounds that invite visitors to take deeper breaths.

• Containers of Sensory Plants: Containers filled with fragrant herbs, colorful flowers, and textured foliage are dispersed throughout the area, encouraging slow, curious walking and giving people many small reasons to linger.