In this introduction to the special issue on Gardens of eudaimonia: cultivating human flourishing through sensory experiences, the topic of the collection is contextualized within the recent and growing interest in gardens among scholars from different disciplines as well as the wider public. Since the beginning of this millennium, academic attention to gardens has moved its focal point from aesthetic considerations to an interest in the benefits gardening can offer to human life and well-being. In this introductory chapter, we first lead the reader through a small selection of examples from garden history, which highlight sensory impressions; secondly, we introduce sensory history with an emphasis on garden perception. Thirdly, we present the concept of a ‘flourishing life’ (one of the ways how one could translate the Greek word, and rich concept of eudaimonia) and its relations to the sensations available to human experience in gardens. Most importantly, we strive to show that the sensorium is not limited to the five senses traditionally intended; rather, it contains a synesthetic variety of feelings, perceptions, moods, and atmospheres that emerge as an environmental ensemble in gardens and contribute as such to the achievement of a ‘good human life’. The introduction is closed by a content overview of the individual contributions.