How do I Make Zen Sand Gardens?
Zen gardens, native to Asian culture, can provide a sanctuary away from busy life, act as a meditation garden for stress relief, or just bring a sense of balance to your landscape. Zen sand gardens are a Japanese style garden that incorporates sand, rocks and smooth elements to represent the movement of water. You can design them however you like with as many elements as you like. These easy-to-maintain gardens provide a great place to spend time and reflect. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- 2 wooden boards, 3 inches thick, 3 feet long
- 2 wooden boards, 3 inches thick, 6 feet long
- Hammer
- 2 to 4-inch roundhead nails
- Zen garden rake
- Tarp or plastic sheeting
- Sand, white crushed shells
- Smooth rocks of various sizes, pebbles
- Bench or hammock
Instructions
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1
Choose what size you want the Zen garden to be. This all depends on the amount of space you have available, as well as how much work you want to put into making the sand garden. You must also pick a level location. The key to remember is that the Zen garden should be somewhere quiet and peaceful, away from the view of noisy traffic or tall buildings.
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Set each wooden board on its narrowest side, longways, forming a rectangular shape. Secure the boards together with the nails and hammer.
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3
Lay the plastic sheeting or tarp inside the wooden box, tucking the tarps under each corner. This is what will keep in all the sand and rocks, so you want to make sure it is secure. Nail the tarp into the wood on the outside of the box near the bottom on all sides.
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4
Fill the wooden box with sand until it is about one inch from the top. Make sure the sand is level. Position smooth rocks and pebbles in various shapes and sizes on top of the sand until you find a set up that feels comfortable for you. This may take some time and a lot of repositioning, but you can try different designs such as swirling the rocks in patterns to replicate water. It is important to remember that the Zen sand garden needs to have a natural flow of energy, so try to create a space through the middle for energy flow, not crowd it with clutter.
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5
Use a rake to create long wavy lines in the sand. Making fluid movements such as this will help you feel like the sand is the flow of water and energy together. You can find zen garden rakes at gardening stores or online. They come in a variety of mini, small and large sizes, and differ from regular gardening rakes because they are more narrow. For a zen garden that is 3-by-6 feet, a small size rake is appropriate.
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Keep a seating area by your Zen sand garden where you can relax, such as a bench or hammock.
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Tips & Warnings
An ideal size for a small Zen sand garden is 2 feet by 4 feet.
Bring your supplies to where you are constructing the garden, so after you construct it you don't have to transport it anywhere.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit a zen garden #2 image by tobe_dw from Fotolia.com
