Hi Tazetta, since nobody's answered your question I'm going to give it a shot. My best advice would be to concentrate on making the area as "plain" as possible to aid navigation and to use very nicely scented plants or plants that are very tactile(pineapple sage springs to mind here, it has both qualities).

A circle of lawn/paving/whatever-for-walking-on(thyme seems like a good choice here) surrounded by the beds would seem like a nice lay out. You may also want to have some windchimes or a drippy water feature for aural interest. Keep us posted on how it develops, ok?

Hi, I just saw your message. Sorry as I've been away and busy, hope I can help.
I've been blind all my life, over 50, create my own gardens, control them and do whatever they need.
If you just want to start by shaping the garden area, decide whether you want to go with rows or the square foot method. As I have a small yard and limited sun, (due to neighbors' trees in an old city), I use the square foot method. So I can identify the gardens, I hoe a narrow trench around it. That way, I can locate it by foot and know when I've reached it as it feels different from grass. Does the person you're referring to, know what he/she wants to grow? I plan the garden along with the house so I'm the only one who decides what is grown, when, how much and where. If the person you're asking about just happens to have a vision loss, but knows what to grow and all the details, just dig a square or rectangle area and let the person go to work. No one does my gardening. I just pay for tilling, the back can get sore as we age. I measure with my trowel which is a foot long or my tomato stakes which are 4 and 5 feet long. Just because someone has a problem with sight, that doesn't limit physical movement. And as long as it's comfortable, not over 90, I love getting muddy and wet.
It doesn't matter whether a person is disabled, the bottom line is whether the person understands gardening, plant growth, care, soil care, etc. I don't know anything about the person you're writing about, but if he/she can,
I'd suggest getting on the computer and do all the reading possible from websites like Gardenweb as well as from your local extension office and universities. I start my own seeds and have done so for over 10 years. I've read loads about different ways to do this, grow seedlings, care for gardens, control pests, fertilize and lots more. I've bought books and borrowed books from the library on how to care for the types of plants I like to grow.

thanks to everyone who responded for my query about making a garden for a blind friend/relative.
the special problem is that the blind person is not gardening. her husband is and he is not really a gardener. she was really keen on having some plants at hand so i donated about 6 wonderfully fragrant herbs with different smells and textures and advised planting them in a barrel. these are all frost tender so no need to worry about wintering them over. my blind friend, who cooks and dresses beautifully, enjoyed running her hands over the plants and smelling them. i think in a very short time she would learn to distinguish them and know their names.
i have not been able to follow this up to find out how the garden is progressing or if it presents any problems to my friend's husband who has limited time to maintain a garden. thus my query: are there any ideas beyond my very simple one of disposable herbs in a barrel that a non gardening type of person could carry out for his blind wife???
tazetta

How well is your friend able to move about? Is she able to find her way around a yard or a garden? Or does she have a secondary physical limitation which impairs movement. Independence is the key to helping the disabled person, not trying to get others to care for them. If her husband isn't into gardening, let him do his thing and let her do hers. My husband doesn't like handling soil; I do it all. Using the sense of smell doesn't always help people with visual problems. I lost my sight as a child and lost most of my sense of smell with it and all of it about 2 years ago, so wouldn't count on that being a resource. Being able to move about and finding her way to where she wants to go is the most helpful thing. Is she using a mobility guide such as a cane? It would be great if she could and move about without anyone being with her. I'm home all day, gardening, inside working, etc. without help or anything. My husband's working in the community while I'm working up the yard and inside the house. How independent is your friend? Even if her husband doesn't care to garden, he shouldn't have to, if all her problem is visual. Her hands can do the rest of the work.