A Bit Too Much of a Sensory Garden

Photo: Even the dog panting is too loud!

All gardens are sensory. They all have things you can touch, smell, taste and hear, even if it’s just an old wheelie bin and a carrier bag rustling in the trees. And they are all beautiful in their own way (well depending what’s in the plastic bag)

Sensitive to sound

I’ve been a bit sensitive to sounds all week and anything louder than a whisper has sent my eardrums into overload (your sympathy has been noted thank you). For that reason, if there needs to be one, I’ve spent a lot of time out in the garden with my eyes closed just listening to the peace and quiet. Well that was the plan; I am beginning to think there isn’t such a thing.

There’s nothing thankfully that is overly loud in our garden but I am aware of traffic noises, the wind direction allows us to listen to different roads and the wind also sets off the neighbours rather lovely wind chimes. Then of course we have the birdsong, especially a couple of woodpigeons. We are lucky to have trees and shrubs around us which make a great rustling noise. But then there are the other sounds of the suburbs. 

We did have a neighbour who played a radio when the sun shone but they have moved on. We have a couple of distressed dogs in the distance who howl occasionally.  That’s really just the tip of the iceberg with sounds though, people walking past in other gardens, faint industrial noises, planes going overhead, even the clothes line tapping against the wall all add to the rich tapestry of sound in the garden. I can almost hear the plants growing.

Really Sensitive

You can see just how sensitive my ears have been. There’s one thing feeling, tasting and smelling in the garden, you can more or less forget about them when you are sitting down. Noise on the other hand is there constantly.  I had a strange sensation the other day, one that I have only had a few times in my life, which sums up the sensitivity I have to noise at the moment. When I was a youngster I “heard” my mother shout to me as I was in bed. I got up and asked what she wanted, but had no idea what I was talking about. I really did ‘hear her’ in my head. The second time was when I was walking outside; I ‘heard’ a full sized orchestra playing. I actually had the orchestra playing as though they were there, every instrument was loud and clear. The whole experience only lasted for about ten seconds but it was so memorable. As I tried to see where the music was coming from, it got further away and less distinct, like someone was turning the volume down. I was in the middle of a field at the time.  My latest ‘noise’ was a night or two ago when I ‘heard’ as clear as they were next to me a band called Squeeze singing  their first hit “Goodbye girl” again it was only for a short few seconds but it was very strange. Since then it’s been playing in the background of my head for the last three days. It doesn’t sound real though and thankfully distant enough not to drive me mad.

Children Playing

It’s all good though I’m sure and I know it’ll go away soon. Listening to children playing in the distance is a great distraction and reminds me of the Oscar Wilde story ‘The Selfish Giant’ who chased the children away from his garden and only after many long winters invited them back and said:  'I have many beautiful flowers, but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.' I agree but at the moment I’m glad the children are playing in a garden across the road.

Water

Water is also a great sound to have in the garden. We have the rain coming from the shed and filling up my galvanized metal baby bath, which sounds great in the rain. And even when the heavy rain goes down the drainpipes sound lovely.  We have a collection of shells and driftwood that makes a pleasant chinking sound when the wind blows through them. I do tend to get a bit stressed when I hear the polytunnel plastic flapping in the wind or the shed door banging when the children leave it open.

Usually I’ll go into the garden for a bit of peace and quiet.  Today though, I might need to go out there with a pair of earplugs.