How to Create Your Own Zen Garden

Zen gardens are designed for one purpose only – to provide a peaceful and tranquil place for you to think, relax and contemplate. Whether you want to create a small book sized Zen garden for your desk or a large one in your backyard, the elements remain the same. This amazing place of refuge can be create anywhere and doesn’t require extensive work on your part. What makes the Zen garden different from any other garden is that just like your state of mind, the shape of this garden continuously keeps changing. With clear, flowing lines and cleverly placed elements, Zen gardens are designed to calm your nerves by feeding your need for aesthetics.

Here’s how you can get started with your own personal Zen garden.

Ascertain its size

It is very important to decide exactly how much space you are willing to reserve for your Zen garden. Whether you want it to span your entire backyard or just a small part of your room, you can be very flexible with the design. In fact, Zen gardens are so adaptable that they can be created as small as a desktop garden.

Prepare the sand

Easily one of the most important elements of a Zen garden, sand is used as a therapeutic device. Generally known to be dry landscapes, Zen gardens require copious amounts of sand depending on their size. You can even get mold for your garden if your plans are extensive. If your garden is going to be a small tabletop one, you can even build the mold out of wood yourself! This will ensure that the sand will not scatter from the garden and dirty your surroundings. The next step after procuring the sand and filling up your Zen garden is to rake it. The curves in the sand often mirror water ripples and are very soothing to watch.

If you have a huge garden, a garden rake will work perfectly in creating these relaxing patterns. It is interesting to note that these patterns can be changed any time you want. All you have to do is use the rake to make new patterns on the sand. If you have a small desktop garden, you can either use a fork or a miniature rake easily available in stores.

Decorate the garden

The second most important and essential feature in a Zen garden is pebbles and stones. You can choose pebbles and stones in a wide range of shapes, sizes and colors, all depending on what pleases you. Whether you collect them from the beach or purchase some from a store is upto you. Arrange the pebbles and stones in any way you find relaxing but ensure that you do not clutter the space. It is very important for the garden to be free of clutter to help you relax.

Finally, add different Zen elements and features like stone lamps, a small statue, boulders, lights, plants, pathways etc. In fact, anything you find aesthetically pleasing and spiritually relaxing can find its place in your garden. There are no limits as to what you can or cannot use to find Zen.

Image Source: [freedigitalphotos.net]

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