How to Use Water in Zen Garden Design
Water is an important element in zen garden design. It symbolizes purity, the source of life, and the passage of time. While creating water gardens such as ponds or waterfalls is ideal, sand and gravel are also used to simulate water in the Japanese Garden style. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Yard
- Pond or stream materials
- Sand or gravel
- Boulders
- Plants
- Japanese Garden rake
Instructions
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Determined the purpose for your Zen Garden before building it. Various types include tea gardens, meditation gardens, and simple Japanese styles of landscaping. The ideal spot for a zen garden should be flat or have a slight hill.
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Dig a space for a pond, waterfall, or stream bed and use the pond or stream liner, pump, and hoses to set it up. Refer to other articles about a garden pond building for more information. Fill the water garden aspect with water from your garden hose.
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Line a peaceful pond with rocks or boulders that match those used in the rest of the Zen Garden design. Use elegant architectural plants such as weeping trees, and rock garden varieties to add to the pond appearance. Reflection is an important aspect of using water in Zen Garden design.
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Streams and waterfalls in a Zen Garden should fall gently over rocks. You do not want a fast rush of water. Think of peaceful. Think calm. Running water in a Japanese style garden symbolizes the passage of time. You do not want visitors to the garden feeling rushed or harried.
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Simulate water in other parts of the Zen Garden with the light-colored gravel and sand. This material should be raked smoothed and then sculpted in no way that mimics water flow. For example, raking concentric rings around rocks gives the impression of waves against a shore or ripples in a pond.
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