How to build an inexpensive Zen garden

Depending on your yard space, you can easily create a beautiful zen garden for under $200.00.  I say this amount because, most of the items needed are most likely already in hand.

Here is what you will need: 4 4×4 8 feet long each, weed cover to fit inside your new zen garden, rocks, make sure they aren’t to heavy for you to pick up, a good flat metal rake, you can find small ones in your local hardware store.

Let’s get started!

1. Pick the area in the yard that you want your zen garden to be in.
2. Lay out your 4×4’s in a square, you don’t have to connect them, but if you do, you can use L-brackets and heavy screws to hold the square together.
3. Lay the weed blanket/tarp inside the square, this will need to be cut to fit.  Having the tarp inside the area will help to prevent weeds from rising up in your sand.
4. Now put sand in your box.  Depending on the size bags you have gotten you should need about 10 bags of sand, the bags will run around $10- $15 per bag.
5. Using your flat rake (this is the rack that looks like a comb) use the flat edge and push the sand out and level around the box. The base of your zen garden is done.
6. Off to one side, place the stones that you have chosen to use for your zen garden, remember these shouldn’t be to heavy to move. You can also use flower pots with pretty plants in them, flat walking stones, found objects.  The sky is the limit.

You can decorate out and around the outside of your zen box with some simple plants, pushes, etc.  If you have decided to go with plants, you can have them in pots, this will make it nice for you to change out, if you want the area to look different each time you go to use your garden to relax.

Now have fun for the first time.  Using the flat rake, you can create different designs, place rocks or found items through out.  You will want to do this slowly, remember you are using this as a way to relax to meditate.

Zen gardens have been around for centuries.  The idea came out of Japan, the original name of the garde is Japanese rock garden  The base is said to represent water, when you rake the base you are trying to create water.  With the nature of water directions can change.  So, with your rake you are able to create waves in your base (sand).  The rocks that are used in the garden represent mountains, a stable environment, mountains are seen all over the world they are a stable part of our environment.