Where Zen gardens came from
Zen gardening began when Buddhism moved into Japanese culture during the 14th and 15th centuries. These gardens were made at monasteries as places for monks to clear their minds and practice meditation.
Flat gardens were some of the first Japanese Zen gardens. They calmed the mind by stripping nature down to the bare essentials. They looked simple at first glance, but every element carried meaning.
These gardens were dry, or karesansui, using only sand and rock to represent water, islands, mountains, trees and animals. White sand stood for water or created open space in the design.
Abstract Zen gardens
Each part of the design was abstract. Raked sand stood for waves and stacked rocks for waterfalls. Cones of sand or jagged rock formations represented mountains, and interesting rocks stood for animals and trees.
- Karetaki: a dry waterfall made from stones and gravel.
- Karenagare: a dry stream made from raked gravel or white sand.
- Karesansui: mountains or islands made from rock sculptures or carefully placed rocks. A welcome stone often marked the entrance.
- Kogetsudai: mountains made from gravel formed into cones.
Calm by design
A Zen garden was meant to be viewed from one place, sometimes a platform, with a balanced but not symmetrical layout. Visitors sat, cleared their minds and took in the scene. The gardens were usually enclosed by a wall or fence that shut out the outside world. Even upkeep was part of the practice: careful raking and clearing were done in silence.
Using Zen garden ideas on a commercial property
The same ideas work well where people need a quiet moment: office courtyards, healthcare and senior living grounds, hotel entries and quiet corners of apartment communities. They also suit the high desert, because a dry garden of rock, gravel and a few well-chosen plants needs very little water.
- Use one or two large local boulders as the focal point, viewed from a bench, a window or a lobby.
- Use decomposed granite or gravel for the open areas, with a steel edge to keep it clean.
- Add a flagstone or stepping-stone path so people can walk through slowly.
- Plant sparingly: Japanese maples in sheltered spots, pines, ornamental grasses and groundcovers.
- Add a small recirculating water feature or bubbling rock for sound that masks traffic.
- Enclose the space with a screen wall, hedge or bamboo planting in a contained bed.
A Zen garden on a commercial property should be designed for easy maintenance: blowers and rakes for the gravel, drip irrigation for the few plants, and edges that keep rock out of turf. Browse our project guides or request a free quote for a courtyard design.