Creating a Zen garden: The best tips

Many want to create a place of rest and relaxation in their garden. We give tips on creating a Zen garden that provides inner balance.

For many, gardens are a place of rest and relaxation. The Zen garden in particular is said to have an exceptionally calming aura. The Japanese garden shape is often associated with perfect harmony and aesthetics - such a garden is therefore considered the perfect place for mindfulness and meditation. In their homeland, the gardens are called Kare-san-sui, which translates to "dry landscape" and directly points to the main material of the Zen garden - namely, this is one rock garden. But in contrast to rustic German rockeries Zen gardens are less colorful and rely on clear lines that are cleverly designed. Here we will tell you how you can design a Zen garden.

Creating a zen garden

The Japanese Zen garden is also becoming increasingly popular in this country. Anyone looking for inner peace and a place for meditation is well advised to use this form of garden design. Fortunately, creating a Zen garden is not difficult, so you can also look forward to an aesthetic garden at home that invites you to admire and linger.

The 3 main elements of the Zen garden

A traditional Zen garden traditionally consists of only three basic elements: water, stones and moss. However, the first point in particular regularly causes confusion, because water can only rarely be found in a Zen garden. In fact, this is symbolized by the large gravel areas that are typical of this form of garden design. Flowing surfaces and patterns raked into the gravel reinforce the impression of a body of water. Stones, on the other hand, usually represent islands or mountains, but can also represent groups of animals. In fact, moss is the only plant used in a traditional Zen garden. In the meantime, however, trees, especially topiaries and bonsai, are often planted in Zen gardens – flowering plants, on the other hand, hardly play a role and are only rarely found. The aim of the Zen garden is to use its basic elements to create an environment depicting nature and reflecting the proportions of forests, mountain ranges and rivers target.

Planning the zen garden

Before you start creating a Zen garden, accurate planning in the form of a sketch is crucial. Above all, it must be clarified whether you want to arrange your entire garden in Zen style or whether only a separate area should be redesigned. The latter method is particularly popular, in which only a small part is converted into a Zen garden and replaced by a hedge or separated from the rest of the property by a fence.

A place that is easily visible from the terrace or the window is ideal, as looking at the Zen garden in particular conveys peace and serenity. Here you should already know the different gravel surfaces and the positioning of individual plants and stones so that you calculate the appropriate amount of materials such as gravel and sand be able. Ideally, the individual areas should be laid out in such a way that they appear as natural as possible - that means that the transitions between the areas are fluid and at first glance there is no beginning and no end sees.

Zen garden design

When you have completed the sketch of your zen garden, the work in the garden begins. First, all lawns that are in the Zen garden area must be cut off, including the roots. To do this, roughly the top 20 centimeters of the garden soil are removed. Then you put a garden fleece or another water-permeable film in the dug bed - this one later prevents grass, weeds or other plants from making their way through the gravel layer tracks. It is not necessary to fasten the foil, as it is reliably held in place by the heavy gravel. Plants such as small bonsai or moss are planted by cutting the foil in a cross shape and planting the green garden dwellers directly into the soil below. But if you don't want to damage your garden fleece, you can also plant the plants in sufficiently large pots. The gravel can now be filled in. The height of the gravel layer can vary according to taste - but care should be taken that the surface can later be easily raked without the tool damaging the film can. Finally, place stones and decorations and rake the typical patterns into the gravel to give the Zen garden its distinctive look.

How do you design a zen garden?

1. Specify floor plans and individual beds in the sketch
2. Dig the lawn about 20 cm deep
3. Lay out the excavated bed with water-permeable foil
4. Insert plants by making a cross in the film and planting the plants in the soil below
5. Fill in the bed with gravel
6. Use stones and decorations
7. Rake gravel into shape

Plants for the Zen garden

Traditionally, only one type of plant is allowed in the Zen garden: moss. However, designing with mosses is not as boring as it sounds at first, because they actually have numerous variations to offer. Various native types of moss such as the bearded moss (barbula) or some species of reton moss (Polytrichum) not only impress visually, but are also particularly easy to care for. Also moss replacement plants such as star moss (Sagina subulata) are particularly popular in Zen gardens. With its cushion-like growth, this is an ideal and also sturdy ground cover and is also considered to be particularly robust, which is why it is also suitable for partially shaded areas. Also the Andean cushion (Azorella trifurcata) with its rosette-like growth is suitable for the Zen garden and is a pretty eye-catcher. By combining different mosses with each other, interesting differences in texture and thus unobtrusive eye-catchers can be realized in the Zen garden.

In addition to the various mosses, other plants are increasingly being cultivated in modern Zen gardens. Of particular importance here is the bonsai, i.e. the miniaturized growth form of well-known trees, which also has its origins in Japan. Cypresses are also suitable for the Zen garden (Cupressus), but especially conifers are very popular. Straight pine varieties such as the Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii), the white pine (Pinus parviflora) or the Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora) are welcome guests as a sign of longevity and strength. The Japanese fan maple (Acer palmatum), the one with a intensive autumn colours impressed. But also the Japanese yew (Taxus Cuspidata) or the boxwood (Buxus sempervirens) can be used as topiary. bamboo species (Fargesia murielae), which do not form any spurs, are also eye-catchers in Zen gardens thanks to their Asian charm.

Stones in the zen garden

Stones have a special meaning in the Zen garden and are often even more important than plants. They often symbolically represent mountain ranges or islands and often form the focal point in the garden. However, they should never be set up symmetrically or even in geometric shapes - because the Zen garden based on natural proportions becomes a natural asymmetry or wave pattern preferred. For this reason, stone groups often consist of an odd number, which is made up of a large main stone in the middle and several smaller side stones. The type of rock is usually of less importance and can be selected according to individual taste. However, hard rocks such as granite or basalt are particularly suitable due to their high resistance. You should settle on one or two types of rock, otherwise the Zen garden will quickly appear too restless. From an ecological point of view, it is advisable to use regional rock types.

tip: Boulders, which can be found in many regions, can also be wonderfully displayed in the Zen garden.

Decoration in the zen garden

Even if the classic Zen garden does not require any decoration at all, many owners want to give their garden the finishing touch with a few works of art. In this garden, however, the motto "less is more" applies - limit yourself to a few, meaningful decorative elements so as not to disturb the clean, natural lines of the Zen garden. Stone elements, such as sculptures or lanterns, go particularly well with the style of the garden. Buddhas are also a great fit due to their Asian origins and calming charm. Bamboo articles, pagodas or water basins are not traditionally intended in the Zen garden, but they can become great eye-catchers.

Proper care of the zen garden

Not only just looking at the Zen garden is said to have a calming effect on the mind, working in it is also considered almost meditative. The fact that working in the Zen garden also has a positive effect on the body is a real blessing, because you can only enjoy your garden for a long time with regular care. Typical tasks that need to be done from time to time to maintain the garden are For example, picking up leaves and other parts of plants, sweeping paths or plucking from weeds. Make sure that your thoughts are on you and your work - this way, caring for the Zen garden has a particularly meditative effect. Raking the gravel surfaces also has a calming effect. Here you can also live out your creative streak and draw various wavy or straight lines in the gravel. If you have decided on plants in the Zen garden, you also have to look after them. In particular, regular pruning (at least twice a year) of topiary is necessary to maintain the clean lines of the Zen garden. In the case of pines, the young shoots should also be cut off - this ensures that the trees remain particularly small and flat