BY A.E. FEENSTRA/JULY 29, 2022 4:49 AM EDT
According to NASA's Global Climate Change, our planet is warmer now than ever before, it is continuing to heat at faster and faster rates, and human activity unquestionably caused this global climate change. It's alarming, certainly, but the good thing about climate change being caused by humans is that humans can also mitigate it. Everyone, no matter their position in society, can take steps to help prevent further warming and begin to reverse what has already begun. Many of these steps are simple changes you can make within your own garden.
The first and one of the most significant ways to fight climate change is to start growing your own food, such as fruits and vegetables. As the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Extension explains, growing food at home instead of buying it at the grocery store significantly cuts down on the use of fossil fuels for transportation — both the gas you put in your own car to head to the store and the gas that powers those 18-wheeler produce delivery trucks you see in grocery parking lots.
Growing your own tasty meal ingredients also reduces the use of plastic packaging products, which require fossil fuels to produce and often end up in landfills, despite people's best intentions to recycle. Not to mention that runoff from pesticides and chemical fertilizers in a home garden is dramatically less than that from a commercial farm operation.
Try composting
Even if you don't grow your own fruits and veggies, as long as you eat fruits and veggies (as everyone should), you have access to another easy way to combat climate change: by composting your food scraps. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains that by breaking down food waste such as fruit and vegetable peels and other scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, and even gardening by-products such as lawn clippings, you can create your own fertilizer. This act will cut down on the commercial processes to make the fertilizer you buy in stores and, once again, reduce the use of fossil fuels to transport such fertilizer.
Besides contributing to the planet's health, composting is also a fantastic way to impart to the health of your garden plants. Whether you are spreading compost on flower beds or a vegetable garden, it is one of the most nutritional fertilizers you can find — which is why it can be so expensive to purchase in landscaping stores. Best of all, it boosts the health of the microbes living inside your garden's existing soil, so the benefits of compost will last long after its initial application. And, just to say it again: free fertilizer! Who doesn't love free, especially when it helps out Mother Earth to boot?
Protect pollinators
Climate change is also affecting biodiversity and ecosystems that support pollinators such as birds, bees, and butterflies. According to The Royal Society, climate change-related trends such as shifting rainfall patterns increased year-round temperatures. Extreme weather events make it difficult for a wide variety of species to exist in areas where they previously thrived, reducing biodiversity, which is necessary to support pollinators, who require access to plants with various blooming seasons for food. Pollinators are particularly vulnerable to temperature changes that impact the length and timing of plant growth and blooming, as the National Park Service explains.
But you can help pollinators by boosting biodiversity in your own gardening space, per the U.S. Forest Service. Create your own thriving ecosystem by cultivating different plants whose flowers bloom in various seasons, covering every bloom period from early spring to late fall — and, if you are lucky enough to live in a tropical climate, even planting flowers that bloosom through the winter.
Another crucial way to support a pollinator-friendly environment is to refrain from using pesticides and other harmful chemicals in your garden. If you cultivate a healthy enough ecosystem, the wide variety of plant and insect life should cut down on the prevalence of problem bugs and pests, anyway. Plus, as mentioned above, pesticide runoff is pretty terrible for the environment and should be avoided at all costs.
What Is A Zen Garden And What Makes Them Different?
Your home garden might include a variety of flowers, plants, trees, and herbs, among other aesthetic elements. But if you want to create a Zen garden, you will need to hone in on its focused purpose and enlightened design. Dating back approximately 2,500 years, the first Zen gardens, or Japanese rock gardens, were inspired by an Indian man named Siddhartha Guatama and his journey of enlightenment. Zen gardens were established upon his transformation into the Buddha, highly influencing Japanese culture. The word "zen" is often associated with the act of meditation, which includes personal mindfulness and reflection, and is considered a transcendent experience, according to New Skills Academy.
These days, Zen gardens are popular because of their simplicity and tranquility. The rock gardens are undoubtedly low maintenance compared to the upkeep of plant life. In addition, raking the sand and gravel is a relaxing, thoughtful practice. Zen rock gardens, or karesansui (translated as "dry-mountain-water"), originated in Japan during medieval times, and the most famous example is located in Kyoto, Japan (via Japan Guide). If you want to try creating your own Zen garden, here is everything you need to know about them.
What is a Zen garden?
Designed for the mind, Zen gardens create a calm, meditative place for those who enter it. Originally, Zen gardens were dry landscapes, with stones being the most important subjects presented. The landscape signifies four elements: mountains, trees, water, and fire. The stones are deliberately placed irregularly to represent an abstract seashore or river. Depending on how the rocks are arranged, they are intended to resemble flowing water, per Garden Fundamentals. The garden's imagery promotes a balance between the sensations of eternity and vacancy to empty the matters of the mind.
Initially, the purpose of a Zen garden was to be a space for Buddhist monks to meditate and ponder the teachings of the Buddha, but you don't have to be a Zen Buddhist to have one. These days, modern Japanese gardens are made to be a place of tranquility and reflective meditation and can be included anywhere from a backyard to an office.
Why do you need a Zen garden?
Why should you create a Zen garden? Imagine mountains and water. The imagery of these natural wonders projects tranquil feelings that enrich the soul. These artful rock gardens take introspection a step further with the art of representation. Every aspect has a purpose, as rocks and sand help the spectator gain perspective. The more you rake in the garden, the more it will contribute to a better sense of wholeness, as well as opening your creative mind. Throughout this mindful practice, new ideas may surge while simultaneously obstructing unwanted thoughts, notes Medium.
Over time, maintaining your Zen concentration will also provide opportunities to reposition the pieces within the garden as a means of artistic self-expression. If you're a homeowner and thinking about putting your house on the market someday, a Zen garden is a great selling point for potential buyers, per Everything Backyard. They can easily envision themselves in this relaxing, inviting space, whether to meditate or entertain in. While designing your garden, consider your environment, location, and layout. This is a distinctive aspect to add to your property.
How to use a Zen garden
Japanese rock gardens should be an oasis, free from distraction, made specifically for meditation and putting your mind at ease. Stillness is a strength often expressed through the placement and presence of the rocks. The gravel conveys a sense of calm through motionless ripple-like patterns. Some vegetation like moss or lichen is acceptable to use along with specimen plants that can add color or texture, per Drought Smart Plants. You might include some moss or pruned shrubs as accents, but nothing that would spread to a larger degree. If planting, also consider how much sun the plants will need to receive in the garden.
Initially featured in many Japanese temples, Zen gardens are now designed for private meditative backyard spaces or other work environments. From big to small, they can transform a variety of places into helping find your Zen. Use crushed granite, fine gravel, or small pebbles to spread across your garden so you can rake them into various composed designs, per SF Gate. For certified privacy, include an enclosure to surround your Zen space, such as a flanked bamboo screen or a stone or wooden wall.
Find your Zen garden style
Once you've established the perfect location for your Zen garden, envision exactly how you want it to look and what elements are essential to include. Design and draw your own rough sketch or hire a professional landscape designer to achieve your vision. According to Dengarden, many Zen gardens are structured around seven design rules: austerity, simplicity, naturalness, asymmetry, subtlety, unconventionalness, and stillness.
For a balanced meditation garden, keep these concepts in mind during the design process. You might want to develop more space, add art pieces, statues, or a seating area as well as a bridge. Browse various Japanese rock gardens before establishing a design but keep it simple. Stones are one of the most prominent tools within the structure. The different ways they can be formed are boundless. Each formation exemplifies various elements: air, earth, fire, metal, and water. Vertically positioned stones symbolize trees, while horizontal ones suggest water. Stones that appear in an arched format signify fire. You could also include a pathway or bridge constructed of rocks or stones, which gives your landscape visual depth, notes Gardening Know How. Utilizing focal points will support your thoughtful design.
How to create a Zen garden
installing a Zen Garden has many therapeutic benefits. It is designed for meditation while utilizing rocks, gravel, sand, and wood. Traditionally, very few plants and water elements are implemented. Instead, you might rake and shape the sand (or gravel) into formations representing ocean waves' motion and texture, thus, symbolizing water, notes Home Depot. A larger stone or rock is typically featured to represent a solid, fixed mountain with the waterlike ripples visible around it. This designates a balance between the yin and yang.
Choose a flat, even site for your rock garden that will suit your meditative style. If uneven, rake the ground to remove any leaves, roots, stones, or other unwanted debris. Decide where your rocks or plants will go and dig holes for them. Rocks should be strategically placed to achieve your optimum Zen. Once the soil is firm, install landscape fabric over the area; cut holes where items will reside. This will ensure the foundation and discourage weed growth. Asymmetry is another valid component of a harmonious Zen design. Objects are often displayed in groups of three, as in the Buddhist trinity (via Encyclopedia Britannica). Using just a few large rocks is enough to balance your garden.
Types of Japanese rock gardens
You can experience Japanese gardens by either walking around them or enjoying them from a distance, like on a porch or bridge. Altogether, there are five types of Japanese garden styles. According to the Japanese Garden Society, they are:
Pond and island – The oldest style in Japan, this garden usually has a sacred island in the center with bridges connecting to it.
Dry landscape – Gravel is often raked in numerous ways to represent water.
Tea Garden – The tea garden path, or Roji, leads you from the outside world to a rustic teahouse using steppingstones.
Stroll – Intended for visitors to walk or stroll around it, it is typically centered around a large pond.
Courtyard – These quaint gardens are found in smaller nooks, including in between building spaces or small courtyards in homes.
Also, if you need daily stress relief at work, consider creating a mini Zen garden for your desk or counter. Fill a shallow planter with sand and add your desired elements. If you want to add some decorative plant life, include a small succulent, per Home Depot. Keep it in its original container and place it on the sand. Then, include a few small pebbles along with a little garden rake. Raking your tension away at the office will calm your mind naturally.
Materials for your garden
Few items are necessary when designing a rock garden (stones, gravel/sand, and wood), yet all depends upon your vision with the size you choose and how intricate you want it to be. When using gravel for ocean waves or ripples in a pebble pond, get creative beyond the norm. Experts at SF Gate suggest using flat river rocks as larger points of interest, including white landscaping rocks (resembling snow) and perhaps other colored rocks. Larger Japanese rocks or stones will work for your mountain/island markers. Gravel plays an essential role in the establishment of your Zen garden. The raking process alone provides the participant a meditative experience, including improved mental and spiritual focus. Use a wide-toothed rake to comb your finely crushed gravel, pea-sized gravel, or small pebbles. Sand can also be used, but gravel is sturdier and lasts longer.
Traditionally, wood is represented in the garden with benches, bridges, or screening. Many wooden or stone pieces are used instead of metal or plastic, whether manufactured or handmade. This keeps the garden's association with nature, SF Gate notes. If you desire to include some vegetation, moss is commonly used to embody the image of islands. Moss requires little maintenance with light soil and low light. Keep it damp without overwatering. Additionally, various lighting is another option to enhance your garden. Illuminate pathways and other important objects with lanterns.
How to care for your Zen garden
Much of the practice of caring for your Zen garden comes from the realization that you're taking care of yourself as well. This comes from raking the gravel or sand. Repetitive motions of designing circles, waves, or other forms are a positive way to calm the mind, establish attentiveness, and cultivate personal discipline.
Besides focusing on the mental aspects of care, your Zen garden will need regular maintenance from time to time as well. Consider rainfall, foot traffic, and other interferences like weeds that need to be maintained. To keep it looking tidy, clean up leaves, branches, debris, and weeds. Shape your shrubs and moss if required. In addition, all the care and maintenance you put into your Japanese garden project reflects largely upon your wellness, per Garden Design. Ensure the area of your garden is well-draining, as the filter and pipes should be maintained. According to Green and Prosperous, drainpipes can get clogged with small pebbles or other debris after heavy rain or weather and should be inspected frequently.
How much will your rock garden cost?
The cost of your Zen garden depends upon how large or small you envision it to be. You could spend between a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. You might purchase numerous authentic pieces from Japan or keep your rock garden less elaborate and more economical. To start, create a budget. Bigger gardens will require lots more sand, rocks, and tarp materials. According to eHow, white sand is offered at most pet stores (for saltwater aquariums), while larger amounts might be available at home improvement stores and garden centers, including discounted bags of gravel. Instead of purchasing pricey water features, expensive amounts of stones, or greenery, focus on one item to become the main focus.
Overall, by keeping it simple, you will acknowledge the level of Zen that your garden requires. If you decide to implement moss, you might consider transplanting some from a local forested area. Otherwise, it can be purchased from a local garden center or home improvement store. Prices may range from $4 to $10 per square foot, per HGTV. Also, landscape fabric will vary depending on the company you purchase it from. Still, on average, it might cost $110 to $180 (ranging from basic to best), not including installation fees, per Remodeling Expense.
Are Zen gardens safe?
Before installing your Zen garden, be mindful of how the pets and children in your life will react to it. If you have a dog that likes to dig in the sand, you might need to keep it completely closed off with a private entrance. As you maintain your Zen garden, it may not suit your children's activity levels, although they might enjoy raking or combing the sand, suggests The Spruce Crafts. Nevertheless, take care of your garden the way you choose, keeping in mind that it should remain a place of peace and refuge.
If you have a lot of foliage and moss, you might be wary of your pets possibly ingesting some. Japanese moss (Selaginella kraussiana) is considered non-toxic to humans, cats, dogs, and horses, but everyone has a different reaction to things. While moss is also not considered harmful to your garden or lawn, it may be susceptible to potential drainage issues (via Gaming Section), as it loves compact soil, shade, and moisture. Overall, moss is harmless and does not produce any bacteria or fumes.
15 Easy Tips For Designing A Rock Garden
When it comes to deciding on how to landscape your yard, there are a lot of things to consider. Some homeowners with green thumbs might be enthusiastic about the idea of filling their yard with all kinds of plants and flowers — however, if you're not much of a gardener and don't relish the maintenance that comes along with having a garden, low-maintenance options like rock gardens may be a better fit.
There are a ton of benefits to opting for a rock garden in your yard. First of all, a rock garden allows you to craft a thoughtfully-designed yard that can withstand any weather conditions. Unlike plants, or even grass, it doesn't matter if the sun beats down relentlessly on a particular area of your yard, or if your community is experiencing a serious dry spell. It's also ideal for yards that have problematic areas, as Pinehurst Landscape Company explains. You can arrange rocks over spots in your yard that struggle to sustain growth, or that are uneven. Finally, you can find a wide variety of styles that match your aesthetic, and can even play around with different sizes, textures, and colors of rock to create a truly showstopping look. According to Contemporist, it can even make your yard feel larger, a huge plus for those with smaller yards.
If you've decided to invest in a rock garden for your yard, here are 15 easy tips to ensure you get your ideal slice of rocky paradise.
1. Gather inspiration
It can be challenging to envision exactly what you may want your rock garden to look like, which is why doing research and gathering inspiration is so crucial, as Garden Design explains. Visit some public gardens in your area or scour the internet for pictures that speak to you. Based on the inspiration you gather, you should be able to look through to identify certain features, materials, or layouts that seem to appeal to you.
2. Clear the area
This step will depend on what your yard is like starting out, but chances are, you'll have to do some clearing, according to DIY Network. You'll want to remove any plants, bushes, and vegetation such as leaves or twigs. You want to dig things up below the roots, as The Spruce explains, to ensure that unwanted shoots don't end up peeking through your rock garden later on. This step may seem like it doesn't matter, but it's essentially laying the foundation for your rock garden.
3. Plot your design out first
As Backyard Boss clarifies, a lot of the materials for a rock garden are quite heavy, so you want to have a good idea of where everything will be going before you actually begin moving it around. After all, you don't want to haul endless wheelbarrows full of rocks, only to realize you need them in an entirely different spot. You may not be a professional landscape architect, but you can sketch out a rough idea of what you want the finished product to look like.
4. Determine the overall style you want
Within the world of rock gardens, there's a huge amount of variety in style, as Planted Well demonstrates. One of the important early steps in designing a rock garden is to determine the overall aesthetic you want it to have. Do you want something Zen, with a minimalist feel? Or do you want it to feel more rustic, as though your backyard is a forest? Do you want smooth, polished stones or natural ones with jagged edges? Whatever your preference, try to nail down a few main descriptors so your overall design feels cohesive.
5. Find out what's native to your area
While you're certainly free to use whatever type of rocks you love in your garden, incorporating rocks that are native to your area can help make your garden really fit into the landscape and give it a certain amount of cohesion, as The Spruce explains. As an added bonus for those on a budget, typically rocks native to your area will be less expensive, since they don't have to be shipped as far.
6. Determine your source or supplier
most important steps in designing your rock garden is finding the source or supplier where you'll actually get the rocks — typically a quarry, or landscape or garden center of some sort. You can purchase them in varying quantities depending on what you need, from 40 pound bags for accent areas to 2,000 pound bags for larger swaths of land (via Home Depot). Often, the details will include the measurement of cubic feet that the amount of rocks in that particular package will cover so you'll have an easier time determining how much you need to buy.
7. Get some tools
The reality is, you just can't move rocks around the same way you would move flowers or plants. Depending on the size of the rocks you've selected, you may want to consider getting tools such as a back brace, shovel, and wheelbarrow, or even a two-wheel dolly, as The Spruce suggests. If you're including oversized boulders as part of your design, you may even want to look at hiring a contractor or using some type of power equipment to deal with the really heavy rocks.
8. Use the right kind of soil
While you might assume soil is only important if you're planting items like flowers, that's not the case at all — as Country Living explains, soil matters in your rock garden as well. Avoid nutrient rich soil packed with compost for this particular purpose, and instead, use a blend of sand, small rocks, and lean topsoil to lay the foundation for your rock garden to thrive.
9. Decide on a color scheme
Whether you're adding rocks or plants, the color scheme is a key consideration for your garden, as Backyard Boss reports. There are rocks available in a wide variety of colors, and you'll want to think of how they all work together in your overall design plan. Incorporating seven different shades in a small backyard will likely end up looking cluttered and chaotic, for example. Pick an overall color scheme to work within, whether that's neutral ivory stones or shades of deep gray, and factor in how things like added plants or different accessories can help accentuate it.
10. Incorporate a variety of sizes
Unless you're going for a super minimalist feel, selecting just one size of rock will likely create more of an industrial look in your rock garden. As Country Living suggests, you want to play around with scale and include a variety of different sizes of stones in order to create a natural-looking, eye-catching design. This may mean placing a few larger rocks as statement pieces in an area filled with smaller pebbles, using large stone slabs as a walking path between areas in your yard, etc.
11. Think natural when placing and arranging your rocks
Now, if you're all about symmetry and want a highly designed rock garden, that's completely fine — your yard, your choice. However, a rule of thumb that The Spruce explains is that you should try to arrange your rocks in a way that looks natural. This could include incorporating elements like elevation or slopes, ensuring any visible striations in your rock are aligned, or taking an asymmetrical approach to your arrangement.
12. Add in some accessories
Just like you'd incorporate various accessories and décor items inside your home, you want to get creative with your yard; bring in a few elements beyond just the variety of rocks and stones you've selected, as Hunker suggests. This gives you a place to really allow your personality to come through in your space as well. Consider adding items like sculptures, outdoor lighting, trellises, decorative pots, feeders for wildlife you may want to attract, etc.
13. Consider incorporating a few plants
You may have selected a rock garden specifically because you don't have a green thumb, but that doesn't mean you can't have any greenery whatsoever. Typically, as Country Living demonstrates, the types of plants that do well in rock gardens tend to be very low-maintenance, drought-resistant species that thrive without much water. Depending on the look you're going for, you may want to consider succulents for that desert vibe, creeping plants such as moss for more of a forest feel, ornamental grasses, or specific plants like thyme or rock cress that do well amidst rocks (via Rhythm of the Home).
14. Level up with a water feature
There's no denying that adding a water feature can be tricky and involve a lot of work, but for those who really want a serene, Zen vibe in their rock garden, it can make a major impact, as Homes & Gardens reports. This could include simple water features like a birdbath, or more complex options that require electricity, such as fountains. Make a serious statement with designs like a water wall, or if you have enough square footage in your yard, you may even want to invest in your own pond.
15. Establish your garden
You may assume that you just leave your rock garden alone after installing everything, but that's not quite the case, as HGTV explains. In those critical beginning stages when your rock garden is still fresh, you'll want to water it frequently until everything gets established — once that happens, all you'll really need to do in order to maintain your garden is some occasional weeding.
Source : https://www.housedigest.com/723206/what-is-a-zen-garden-and-what-makes-them-different/
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