Armony outside and inside the house: the zen garden

A place for reflection and mental and physical well-being, where all the natural elements that make it up, feed body and soul. The zen garden embodies this concept and much more… If you are a nature and gardening lover, open the doors of your home, this japanese philosophy will let you create harmonious environments outside and inside the house. What matters is to find, within the spaces, welcoming atmospheres where being just who you are. So let’s see, how should you realize a zen garden?

The zen philosophy and the harmony among elements: where to create a zen garden

How to explain feng shui, the environments reflect our thoughts and emotions: the colours of the walls, the furniture shapes, their positions, the details to focus on for your home. Therefore feng shui, the “design philosophy”, suggests to place the feng shui garden close to the everyday spaces, in order to infuse positive energy for meditation.

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In fact, the term zen comes from the chinese word Ch’an which, itself, comes from the sanskrit term Dhyana, whose meaning is meditation. The zen garden is indeed considered as a natural corner where being able to restore tranquility and inner peace. And if, on one hand, within interiors you can linger on the choice of colours and chromatic combinations, or choosing wallpapers inspired to nature for creating an indoor/outdoor connection, on the other, what about the outside?

Symbolic elements such as water, rocks, in combination with the restorative power of nature, enable you to enjoy quiet and reflective moments. Thus taking care of yourself while looking after the environment surrounding you at the same time. The more space you will have at disposal, the more your zen garden will be complete in all its details.

The characteristics and essential elements of karesansui

Karesansui is the japanese name used for denoting the zen garden, or even “dry garden”. The reason is that among its main elements we find rocks, stones and pebbles, other than plants. Each element doesn’t merely have a decorative function, quite the opposite. Each one of them carries a meaning, stones, for example, represent the inner stability, while water, on the contrary, leads back to what is changeable in the world.

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And to ensure to keep all the elements in balance, it is important to learn about the most suitable positions for everything, so to create, with your own hands, a minimal and tidy space, both casual but not artificial. Natural pathways, ponds, stretches of sand and musk instead of grass, to convey gentleness to the shapes.

How to create a zen garden at home

As previously mentioned, if you have a large garden you can choose to combine as many elements as you wish for your corner of meditation. If, on the contrary, you prefer a more basic or even tiny solution, you should opt for bonseki (and you can take a look to the next paragraph).

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The stones of the zen garden

Start with the choice of slightly processed and flat stones, for creating a pathway surrounded by sand. The large-sized rocks, instead, find a better place along the perimeter of the garden because they represent the mountains. These ones define the space for symbolizing a sense of union.

The plants of the zen garden

For the choice of the plants it is always better to opt for evergreens with lasting flowerings but, most importantly, small-sized. Too high shrubs are likely to create apparent asymmetries wherever they’re placed. What then? Arranging them so as to create small relaxing shaded areas.

The water in the zen garden

The water, its flow is a symbol of life and if you’re looking for a waterfall, it must be placed so as to flow from east to west thus evoking the sunrise and sunset. Or rather a pond for infusing quiet.

Bonseki, the miniature gardens

If you prefer a tiny zen garden, bonseki is the solution. In fact, their dimensions (starting with a minimum surface of 30 cmq), not only make them easy to realize, but they also ensure original and charming decors for your meditation corner at home. The necessary for realizing a bonseki consists of: a supporting structure similar to a frame (wood, plywood), some white sand or rather pale fine gravel, stones and rocks and a small rake.

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With this last one you may recreate waves in the sand, like the grooves of water. You can repeat this sweet movement whenever you want, it will convey gentleness and it will help your meditation. As soon as your miniature zen garden is ready, you may want to place it in the middle of the room, or rather facing west, and in such a way to make sure it is illuminated by the sunlight during the day. And now, there is nothing left but to enjoy the peace and tranquility of the meditation corner you have realized.

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