Life Is Full of Sweet Spots

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is also in the feeling of softness, the inhaling of scent, the timbre of its presence. The gardens of the Ngorongoro Farm House in Karatu, Tanzania, which I visited while on safari in 2010, simply called out to be photographed, smelled, touched. They etched their presence in all of my senses, framing my memories of a past journey into the soul of Africa.

Beauty is meant to be felt. It is meant to be sensed. These are the principles at the core of Boston’s William E. Carter School with such programs and features as its Sensory Garden Classroom. Designed to serve the special population of developmentally challenged children and adults, the Carter School knows the true value of getting its students out into the grass. Tour its Sensory Garden along with David Berarducci and master gardener and author Roger B. Swain and see the true experience of beauty—and joy—as a sensual thing.

Photos of Ngorongoro Farm House gardens, (c) Mary O’Connor, 2013