How to Create Your Zen Garden

Do you want a space within the vicinity of your own home to allow creativity and tranquility to flourish? A Zen garden can be used to help you meditate, find quiet and solitude.  You can also enjoy a Zen garden for its simplicity. Traditionally, a Zen garden is comprised of sand and stones.  Depending on the scale, you might also choose to plant a few trees or small plants.

Zen Garden Building Step #1

Decide on the scale. Zen gardens come in all shapes and sizes.  You can create a desktop garden.  You can also convert your entire back yard into a garden for the whole family to enjoy at leisure.  The choice is yours.  Keep in mind that there is some maintenance involved in a garden like this. You’ll need to water plants, weed, and rake the sand to remove debris and animal droppings.  (Kitties love Zen garden sand!)

If you’re not up for maintaining a large scale garden, you might choose a smaller, portable size.  Your garden’s location will help determine the size.  For example, if you choose to create a desktop garden, how much space do you have on your desk?

Zen Garden Building Step #2

Gather together your tools and equipment.  For your garden you’ll need:

* Get yourself some lumber. For indoor use you’ll want a piece of plywood for the bottom of the garden.  For outdoor use you simply need to create a frame for your garden.  Plastic sheeting will work for the bottom.  The sheeting helps protect your garden from weeds.

* Some wood screws or nails and wood glue.

* You will need some plastic sheeting, which will also help keep insects at bay.

* Sand (Approximately two inches deep.  Determine the volume of your frame, length x width x height, to determine how much sand you need.)

* Rocks of an appropriate size for the garden.

* If you’re creating an outdoor garden and you want plants, add your chosen plants to the list.

You May Wish to Use the Following Items:

* Moss
* Evergreens
* Shrubs
* Xeriscape plants like Mountain Laurel which doesn’t require much water.

Zen Garden Building Step #3

Design your garden.  Before you start hammering and nailing your lumber plan how you want your garden to look.  For example, a simple rustic Zen garden might use old railroad ties for the frame.  You’ll want your frame to support at least two inches of sand.

Zen Garden Building Step #4

Prepare the area.  If you’re creating an outdoor Zen garden prepare the area.  You might want to remove any plants or grass.  If you’re building an indoor Zen garden then find a flat surface and cover it with newspaper or plastic to help contain the sand while you work.

Zen Garden Building Step #5

Build the structure that you have decided upon. Then you will want to glue your corners together.  Reinforce this structure with nails or wood screws. If you are building a smaller garden, then wood glue may work just fine.

Zen Garden Building Step #6

Now you will want to fill the garden with sand.  Have a small rake handy so that you can begin the meditative practice of tracing rings in the sand of your garden. Decorate your garden with your chosen rocks and plants.

Zen Garden LIVING Step #7!

Add items to your zen garden that you enjoy and will uplift your spirits. It is always good to add pieces that represent each of the four nature elements, to create balance.

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You may wish to try some outdoor fountains and decor for adding the water element. There are even solar powered outdoor fountains, which will also add the fire element to your garden.

Enjoy your new garden and all of your hard work and creativity.  I personally really love these inspirational frog figures! Enjoying your garden is easy!  Sit down beside it and simply enjoy the peace and simplicity.  Rake it to create pattern and lines.  This is now the perfect place to sit back, listen to the sounds of nature, and enjoy your favorite cup of green tea.  Meditate, get into your ‘zone’, relax, and thoroughly enjoy!

Creating a Zen garden is a nice way to landscape your yard or adorn your home.  It’s also an effective means of calming your body and mind.  You might make visiting your garden a daily ritual.

Why Are We Drawn So Strongly to Plants, Anyway?

We’re used to thinking of plants as “things” rather than living, sentient beings that are connected in profound ways to the health of our bodies, minds and souls.

But what if plants — with all their health-giving effects and amazing diversity of expression — hold the key not just to our health but to our spiritual evolution?

This idea is not as new as you might think, as it’s been part of ancient systems of natural medicine from Ayurveda to Chinese medicine. Plants affect our life force and connect us physically with the raw energy of the sun.

The fascinating and powerful relationship between plants and spiritual evolution is the passion of Floracopeia founder David Crow, who is brilliant on this subject.

I am excited to invite you to a free virtual event with David called, How Medicinal Plants Can Fuel Your Spiritual Evolution: Essential Insights that Unify Natural Medicine, Ecology & Spirituality.

If you’ve ever marveled at the peaceful beauty of a garden or been grateful for a herb that brought you healing or wondered how to harness the power of essential oils, you’ll be excited by David’s insights into the plant-human connection.  

Sign up for this free online workshop, and you will learn:

• Learn about body-based awareness exercises that will allow you to perceive plant intelligence more deeply.
• Relate to medicinal plants in a more meditative way to connect with their essence.
• Discover breath practices to open a stronger energetic relationship with plants.

For more than 30 years, David Crow has pioneered a path that is about harnessing the power of plants to infuse more intelligence in your body, mind and soul — giving you a more organic wisdom and sustainable connection with life.

He unifies wisdom from many streams of healing practices into a coherent understanding that will show you how to relate more deeply with medicinal plants for rejuvenation, awakening and health.