How To Create A Relaxation Sanctuary With Your Backyard Zen Garden?

Imagine you return home from a long day’s work completely exhausted, and right after that, you step into a place where you find some spongy moss under your feet or come across a ground waterfall that refreshes your body, mind, and soul. This is the space where you can relax and throw away all your stress, anxiety, and troubles, aside from staying connected to nature and ushering in a positive state of mind.

How will you feel if you have such a perfect setting in your backyard? Amazing, right? Well, it isn’t hard to utilize your yard space and turn it into a peaceful and rejuvenating zone called a Zen garden. But, how to create this relaxation sanctuary? You will find that out soon.

What’s the Difference Between Japanese and Zen?

A garden with a thriving landscape dotted with stone bridges, ponds, and inclines is usually called a Japanese garden. A Japanese garden with a stylized landscape, made up of carefully arranged rocks, moss, water features, bushes, and pruned trees, along with sand and gravel, is known as a Zen garden.

Meticulous planning is needed to create any one of these garden styles. If you want the best design for yourself, you should consider your garden’s dimensions. That would help you accessorize or get an idea about how much water should be ideally used to maintain the garden.

Zen Gardens and What to Consider

In case you want to derive pleasure from the susurration of the waterfalls in your backyard and treat yourself with scintillating vignettes, the Zen gardens are the ideal choice. There are a few factors that you need to take into account before you start designing. The first factor is the layout. Make a note of what you would like to incorporate in your garden. Will you include water features? What about a meditation spot that’s a bit into the interior? Would you opt for a bamboo doorway and winding paths? The most vital effect you experience through a Zen garden is connecting with nature.

A natural appearance is always preferable to a wild look. Remember, your aim should seek calmness of mind and purification of your soul. Next, come the trees and shrubs you want to plant in your garden. Every element of the garden should be picked with care. The design should be in direct coordination with the garden, including the choice of plants.

How to Choose Your Zen Garden?

The popular choices for a Zen garden include evergreen plants like Cryptomeria and some ornamental ones like Japanese maples. Bamboo trees are a great choice for these gardens. However, since some of them can be invasive, consult with a landscape professional. Various patterned plants can lend a texture and contrast. Also, consider the seasonal plants, which can offer something for a season.

Last but not least is the accessories that suit a Zen garden. Many things can make your local landscape a place to be. Wooden gates, cobbled pathways, low bridges made of bamboo, Buddha statues, pagoda lanterns, and even a bamboo pavilion are the accessories that you can opt for. You can do away with one or two of them if the space is not that large. Keep in mind that choosing the right kind of trees for a Zen garden is like an investment. Keep things simple, and don’t overdo them. Austerity is more important than everything else.

Save Water

You can opt for a flat Zen garden if you aim to save water. These gardens are eco-friendly and a fantastic low-water solution. You can forgo the plants that require a lot of water and use interesting rocks instead. There will not be that much difference in the calmness the place would exude.

Before you set it all up, you must take all the preparation to stop weeds from spreading. You can use landscaping cloth to create a barrier for weeds. Just drop in at the garden center in your locality or take suggestions from a landscape professional.

Japanese monks developed the Zen garden style to create a setting perfect for meditation. These spaces can create inner peace and mindfulness as all your exhaustion drains out. So, are you ready to give the Zen garden a try?