Zen Garden Design

Zen gardens are very unique landscaping designs that are also known as "Japanese Rock Gardens." . The word "Zen" means "dry" and the Japanese word for this type of garden is karesansui, meaning dry landscape. Consisting almost exclusively of stones and sand, this type of garden became very popular in Japan during the Shogun era (1185-1573AD), when feudal lords sought to landscape their estates in emulation of Buddhist temples. Monks frequently used such gardens to represent complex Universal truths in simple forms, and they frequently used them as places of meditation to calm and clear their minds.

Although American popular culture commonly refers to anything that looks Japanese or Eastern as a "Zen garden," a true karesansui never contains water. Instead, it uses gravel and sand to symbolize water. Usually the gravel is white or near white in coloration, although this is not a hard-fast rule in landscaping. The reason that sand and gravel are used as water substitutes is because they can be intricately sculpted in ways that water cannot. Using only a rake, a landscaper
can depict ripples, sea waves, rushing rivers, or still, quiet lakes. Every so often, the gardener will alter these patterns to reflect the Buddhism belief that the only thing constant in the Universe is change itself. Even those things that appear to be the most fixed of forms are slowly being altered by unseen forces all around us. In many Buddhist temples even to this day, monks remind themselves of this truth by raking the sand in their Zen gardens while they meditate, seeking a still mind in the perfection of linear form, and creative insight in curved patterns of motion that wrap harmoniously around alternating forms.

In most Zen gardens, rocks take the place of vegetation. This is another aspect of their design that makes these landscapes highly unique. Stones carefully placed in the sand create focal points in the endless fluidity that surrounds them, allowing an infinite variety of wave forms to accent their structure and positioning. Buddhist monks, long before Einstein, understood the relationship between matter and energy. The interplay of sand and stone directly reflects this relativistic relationship with a set of simple, natural symbols that are easy to work with and peaceful to behold. The relationship between light sand and dark stone is another important symbolic element, and directly correlates to the concepts of yin and yang. It must be emphasized that black is NOT a symbol of evil in the Eastern World, but instead represents the receptive elements of the mind. In a similar way, white has nothing at all to do with our moral concept of good. It symbolizes the mind's ability to express itself through intentional action. The careful placement of darker stones in lighter sand (or vice versa) is therefore never intended to represent a clash of opposites. Instead, it is meant to represent the dual nature of the mind as it perceives reality through contemplation, then acts upon it through intention.

One famous Japanese text even goes so far as to state that the most important element of Zen gardening is the placement of stones. The text goes on to say that rocks should always be positioned where the most attractive side faces the viewer. It also states emphatically that there should be a greater number of horizontal stones (or "chasing stones" as they are called in Japan) than there are vertical stones (called "running stones" in the text). Again, this helps emphasize the rising force of intent coming up from the depths of the mind. Intent is mystery in Buddhism, but its effects are clearly evidenced by action.

The philosophical function of rocks is complimented on the practical level practical level by decoratively arranging them to represent objects that are commonly found in Nature. Ancient Japanese texts on the subject recommend creating such features as mountains, lakes, seashores, rivers, and cliffs out of rocks of varying sizes. The only vegetation typically found in an authentic Zen garden is moss, which is trained to grow over rocks in emulation of forests growing along river banks, lakeshores, and mountainsides covered in forests. Very small shrubs are used at times to frame a Zen garden, but only as a perimeter element, and seldom, if ever, as a central one.

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Create Your Own Lovely Garden Design

For those of us who love to garden, garden design is a subject near and dear to our hearts. When the winter months deprive us of the chance to roll up our sleeves and dig some dirt or tend the flowers, nothing can stop us from poring through the seed and plant catalogs, dreaming of spring. Plans to put in a cutting bed or create a mini-field of perennial wildflowers dance in your head like sugarplums, full of fun and promise. Without a cohesive plan for your planting adventures, you may end up with a garden design that's not as pleasing as you'd like.

Winter is a great time to work on sprucing up your existing garden and fine-tuning an overall design. After all, what else is there to do?

The fun part of designing a garden is constructing your wishlist of plants, from shrubs to vegetables - and beyond, of course! Remember, you don't need to do it all this year. Gardening is somewhat like a great marriage. It's a lifelong love. So when you put your list of projects to paper, think long term. Don't hesitate to include your ideal plants, garden ornamentation, brick pathway, or the massive display of spring bulbs giving way to summer perennials.

The old way of garden design required graph paper, a sharp pencil, plenty of patience and excellent visualization skills. Although some gardeners still prefer this method, you can have a lot of fun creating your garden design with any number of excellent software packages that are available now. A number of free garden design software packages are listed below, together with some professional garden design software packages.

There is some manual labor involved. You do need to measure the dimensions of your garden area. Once that's accomplished, you're ready to sit down and create a visual representation of your dream garden design.

Garden design software comes with databases of plant images and characteristics, organized in categories. Choose your gardening zone, plant type, exposure and soil requirements to select those suited to your plot and taste. Such software lets you virtually install your brick pathway and plant a perimeter of annuals. You'll see how many plants are required for the allotted space and how they'll look at planting time as well as in midsummer. How about a shade tree to eventually cool your southern facing kitchen? Select your tree and plant it. See how much cooling cover it provides three or five or ten years from now. The software calculates the distance of the tree from your house that's required to keep your foundation intact 20 years from now. Marvelous! The visuals provided by such garden design software are inspiring and accurate representations of what you may expect of your design, both in the short and long term.

The best thing about garden design software is that if you decide you don't care for the looks of an area, you just do it over - on your computer! You can also make as many garden designs as you wish. It's a lovely way to spend some winter's evenings!

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Italian Garden Design

A client in the Heights contracted Exterior Worlds to create an Italian garden with a number of complimentary, classical elements to the front and rear of their home. Their house had a classic Old World appearance to it. It was a two-story structure with a porch and an upstairs balcony. Steps led up to the porch, and shuttered windows with arched tops lined both the porch and the balcony. A stately, old, and very large oak tree grew just next to the house, reaching up and over the top of the house. The architecture and indigenous landscape were an ideal setting to further develop a European look and feel to the property.

We began by installing lights in the trees next to the home in order to illuminate the roof and balcony, and we placed lights under the eaves of the porch and patio to illuminate the surfaces, walls, and windows. We planted a small Italian garden in the front near the trees. In it, we placed a variety of ground cover plant species, shrubbery, and smaller, ornamental trees. This lent an organic sense to a very symmetrical and elegant structure, and helped develop the Classical theme we were asked to create. We completed the design in the front with urns placed on either side of the stairs that led up to the front door. This worked to create a sense of grand entryway that alluded to a sense of Roman antiquity and classical design.

The home had been built toward the front of the lot, so the majority of the property lay behind the house. This provided a great deal of room to develop an Italian garden with a number of functional and aesthetic elements that fit the lifestyles of the owners. The first thing we designed for them was a planter, shaped like a small wall, which surrounded the rear perimeter of the home. This provided a casual seating area for the home owners that they use as an overlook point to appreciate the scenery beyond. In the morning they could sit outside and watch the sunrise while they drank coffee and talked, or comfortably recline while they read the paper.

Just a few feet from this planter, we built a water fountain. We designed it as a rectangle to continue the movement of the house, because all Italian gardens are intended to follow the linear movement of architecture and maintain a sense of order and proportion throughout their continuity. Although the fountain featured very simple and compact proportions, we made it look much more dramatic and prominent by installing four water jets and 4 underwater lights to draw attention to it in the dark.

Around the fountain we then laid down a paver patio using a blend of hardscape and softscape paving. This blended construction made the patio appear to be fading into the grass, and caused the patio and surrounding gardens to look more classically Italian. The patio was surrounded by bull nose coping and sloped slightly toward the planter walls, which were built with unseen, 1-inch drain channel to provide a convenient and unobtrusive means of water runoff. We then filled the space around the new patio and planter with an Italian garden featuring cypress and decorative handmade pottery.

At the far end of the property, we completed our project with an arbor that functioned as a destination for outdoor entertainment and a terminus for the Italian garden design. The garden arbor was built on a limestone patio, and was constructed out of Permacast columns and a cedar top. We installed a ceiling fan within the arbor, and decorated the patio with tables and chairs to provide a comfortable gathering place for visiting guests.

One very unique feature was also added to this arbor to complete its design. This final piece was a mirror built to look like a window. Because the property bordered a commercial lot that had a rather unattractive building on it, we wanted to create a sense of enclosure and provide a focal point that would draw the eye away from the eyesore behind the arbor. A mirror proved much more useful for this purpose, because it both blocked the view of the building, and it magnified the apparent size of the Italian garden, fountain, planter, and rear of the home.

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Small Garden Design - How to Get Started

So, you have decided to start a small garden, but where should you start? The first step in any small garden design project is planning the type of garden you want to grow.

Do you want a small garden with lots of color? Will you want flowers that you can cut and bring indoors? If so, then you will want to think about flower garden design. Do you want to combine an interest in cooking with a small vegetable garden design or an herb garden design? Maybe you want to consider a combination garden.

Once you have a starting point on the type of garden you want, before you start your small garden design, you need to consider a few things...

What is your planting zone?

How many hours of sun does your garden area get during the day?

Does the amount of sun change during the day or the seasons?

If your garden is in a small portion of a yard, what else is already growing in that area?

Let's start with your planting zone. What is a planting zone? In North America, the USDA has created a Hardiness Zone Map that divides North America into 11 different planting zones. A low and high range of temperatures defines each zone. While there are limitations to using a zone map, it will give you some idea of whether a plant will survive in your climate.

Some sources for finding planting zone information are on the back of seed packets, in the plant description, and on the internet. This information will not only help you determine if a plant can survive in your climate range, but how early you can plant a particular plant in your location. While zone maps are not perfect, they can provide a useful start to determining the plants to use in your small garden design.

One of most important factors in determining the types of plants you can use as you develop your small garden design will be the amount of sun you get in the area you want to plant. Whether it is a container garden for your patio, deck, balcony, or rooftop or a small area in your yard where you are going to plant, you need to spend some time evaluating the amount of sun you get in that area. Do you get full sun for 6 to 8 hours a day? Is the area in the sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon or shade in the morning and sun in the afternoon?

The amount of sun you receive in your planting area will determine whether you can plant sun-loving plants, shade plants, or plants that can take part sun/part shade. Armed with the information about your planting zone and the amount of sunlight in your area, the next step will be to start determining the types of plants you want in your small garden design. Now the fun starts...

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