Sensory Garden

Located just east of the Legislative Building, the Sensory Garden is the newest to grace the Capitol Campus. It brings life back to an area once filled with failing rhododendrons. Similar to the Sunken Garden, this garden was created to bring forth four of the five senses: smell, touch, sight, and sound. It’s landscaping aims to enhance well-being, promote educational opportunities within the community, and stimulate the human senses. Like all other Capitol Campus gardens, the Sensory Garden is accessible for those with disabilities.

This garden features plants that bloom throughout all four seasons, making it a year-round point of interest. The plants chosen are mainly ornamental: perennials, flowering trees, flower bulbs, and woody shrubs. Choosing plants for this garden involved extensive research to ensure everything is safe for humans. Each plant has something to offer someone passing by this space. It is also a pollinator garden, providing flower nutrients for pollinating insects and animals.

The Sensory Garden resides within the historic West Capitol Campus landscape designed by the Olmsted Brothers in 1929. The original Olmsted vision for this area included a multi-layered, transparent planting of diverse materials that not only framed views of the beautiful Legislative Building but also enticed visitors’ senses throughout the seasons. Finished in 2025, the Sensory Garden brings the Olmsted vision to life nearly 100 years later.

Parking

Park in the West Campus visitor lots for $2 per hour. The closest visitor lot to this garden is located on the South Diagonal.