Zen Gardens

Zen gardens have been around for thousands of years originating in the form of large outdoor gardens created by Zen Budhist priests. Contemperary Zen gardens have been reduced to small table top size and are an excellent addition to any room because of their natrual aesthetics.

A Zen Garden is composed of three basic elements, a container representing the world, sand representing water or the ocean, and rocks representing islands or mountains. In some cases gardens represent a specific place such as the Archipelago of Japan.

Instructions:

You will need to purchase or create a small rake to create the decoritive lines in the sand. If you can't find a rake one can be easily made from a small dowel and a piece of Basla wood.

Once you have obtained a rake you should select a container to make your garden in. The container can be anything from a Frisbee to a serving tray. The main requirement is that the container be open and shallow.

After selecting a container fill it about 1/3 of an inch deep with sand. Shake the container from side to side gentle to settle the sand to a uniform depth.

Place rocks in the sand. By using rocks of different sizes you can create a natrual looking view of Islands (rocks) in the ocean (sand).

After placing your rocks use your rake to trace grooves in the sand around your objects until the entire garden is covered in beautiful curving lines.

For children you might try using a Frisbee for your container and a large plastic fork for a rake.

It is also sometimes pleasent to put objects other than rocks in the garden, such as the beach chair and palmtree in the photograph above.

Zen Gardens come in all shapes and sizes so feel free to let your creativity take you where it will.

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