These days, people are looking for creative and fun ways to spend time outside.
One of the best ways is to create a Zen garden in your backyard or on your patio. There’s something about these gardens that leave you feeling completely satisfied with every detail.
Creating a Zen garden doesn’t have to be expensive either.
Zen garden ideas on a budget is not an easy task. To create your own Zen garden, you need to search various places, try various things and in the end come up with something that can be used for gardening.
In this blog post, we will discuss 10 budget-friendly ideas for creating a successful Zen garden.
1). Create an Outdoor Zen Meditation Area
You can recreate the look and feel of meditation spaces like those at many temples around the world with a few simple materials that you probably already have, or can easily obtain.
Use loose rocks to create small paths between larger rocks for visitors to walk upon. Sweep away any leaves, sticks, or other debris from the space before laying down tatami-style straw mats on which people can sit cross-legged on their zafus (round cushions), seiza (rectangular cushions), or kneel on their knees on Hanten (folded fabric).
Place your zafu(s) in front of you and either sit on them cross-legged or kneel facing them with your hands resting in your lap or on your thighs, palms up. Place a candle in front of the zafu(s) to represent Buddha and turn off any nearby lights so that people have a dimly lit space in which to meditate.
Incorporate natural elements into your meditation area by creating a rock garden, pond with koi fish, bonsai tree display, etc. Create a small waterfall using a pump and tubing from your local home improvement store, and place rocks of various sizes around it for seating.
Add small seating areas with smooth river stones to serve as side tables next to larger rocks that can double as benches. Gather fallen sticks from nearby trees and lay them across the ground for visitors to walk over.
You can also incorporate a kare Sansui garden to represent the rivers and streams of Zen thought.
Use a small rake or broom to draw a simple grid pattern using mulch or rocks, depending upon which you have access to, on your flat surface. Add sand over the top of this to fill in the lines between the tiles, creating a nearly even ground cover for visitors.
Place smaller stones around larger ones representing mountains as focal points, adding smooth river rocks as stepping stones around these focal areas.
Place any remaining loose rocks throughout your meditation space along with other natural elements such as sticks and dead leaves from nearby trees.
2). Create a Natural Space for Kids at Home
Kids love exploring nature and pretending they are adventuring through forests, jungles, or other natural habitats. You can bring this fun into your home by creating an outdoor space that replicates the look and feel of these environments.
Choose an open area in your yard that gets enough sunlight to grow grass, flowers, and other foliage.
Lay down straw mats on top of ground covers such as mulch or moss to create a simple flooring plan. Use shovels to dig out areas for playground equipment like swing sets, slides, etc., or place logs cut from trees around your play area for kids to sit on while enjoying nature close-ups.
3). Create a Zen Indoor Garden
You can recreate the serenity of a zen garden indoors with very little effort. A tabletop water fountain or a window air conditioner unit provides a soothing sound that doubles as a piece of zen garden decor.
Add a few pieces from your collection of stoneware vases, pots, and other containers to set around the room. Choose items with simple lines and little decoration to create a calming effect.
Place some smooth river rocks in each item to serve as outdoor-style decorations without adding too much extra weight or clutter. You can also place small indoor plants throughout the room next to these displays for an even more natural look.
4). Use Nerds Candy as Zen Garden Decorations
You don’t have to rely upon traditional zen garden elements such as stones and sand, or large garden accessories like ponds or sculptures, to enjoy the benefits of a meditative outdoor space.
You can use candies and other small desserts as zen garden decorations to represent the idea of “sweets”.
Place a few Nerds candies in a dish on your desk or table at home to bring a sense of calmness to your workspace.
Place a bowl filled with a different type of candy, such as hard jawbreakers, on top of some bookshelves for kids to enjoy when they visit. They’ll enjoy picking them up and playing with them just like you play with rocks or pebbles in your rustic indoor garden.
5). Enhance Your Patio by Adding River Stones
You don’t have to live on the coast or near any kind of body of water to enjoy the look of beach-style decorating. You can create the illusion of an ocean, lake, or other water feature by adding large river stones to your patio.
Lay down a thick mat in the middle of your patio made from stonework that features smooth river rocks. Use these larger items along with smaller ones for borders at the edges and to line walkways throughout your space.
Fill in any gaps between smaller pieces using dirt, mulch, etc., to transition smoothly between each stone’s surface. This creates a loose flooring plan similar to sand found around lakes.
6). Transform Your Yard into a Tropical Paradise
You don’t need snow outside your door or freezing temperatures throughout the winter months to enjoy snow-covered themes year-round. One of the most affordable ways to add a snow theme to your yard in any season is by adding fake snow.
Cover all areas of your yard with artificial white snow using a shovel or other gardening tool. Fill in any gaps between larger clumps of snow with sand, dirt, mulch, etc.
Place life-sized inflatable decorations around your yard like penguins, polar bears, igloos, and more for an even more realistic effect that brings the Arctic into the tropics.
Decorate small indoor plants found throughout these spaces with large buttons cut from felt to represent snowfalls across leafy foliage.
7). Create a Cottage Garden Theme
You don’t have to live in an actual cottage or house located in the countryside to enjoy a cottage garden theme. You can create one easily in your front yard or backyard by placing large crystals, rocks, and stones throughout all open areas found between flower beds.
Place pebbles of various sizes around outdoor trees or other small plants near your home’s entrances. Place vases filled with flowers around these pieces for an even more inviting look.
8). Create Tropical Island Themes
You don’t have to live near the equator to enjoy decorating spaces with island themes. A few artificial palm trees, tropical plants, and sand elements are enough to bring a sense of island life anywhere you want it.
Cover outdoor flooring using loose sand, dirt, etc., as if you were about to landscape an outdoor patio.
Place a few artificial palm trees throughout this area using any wooden or plastic stakes. You can even use glass bottles as decorative pieces with sand inside them to create the illusion of seashells.
9). Transform your Lawn into a Zen Garden
You don’t need to spend hours each day maintaining a zen garden outdoors to enjoy its benefits.
Simply layout large mulch mats on your lawn and cut small designs into them like Japanese rock gardens for beautiful, low-maintenance outdoor decorating that brings peace and focus whenever you look outside at your new space.
Fill in gaps between rocks and other elements using dirt, mulch, etc., for further design customization.
Decorate areas found within these features using small plants and flowers placed inside glass bottles and other decorative vases to create a truly stunning and functional outdoor space.
10). Create Magical Forest Themes
You don’t need an actual forest to enjoy the look of one indoors, either. To transform your indoor garden, office, or other rooms into a magical forest theme, simply place artificial bonsai trees throughout open areas.
These trees come in both full-size and miniature varieties that fit perfectly into any area you want to design like a nature sanctuary.
Cover flooring using loose dirt, mulch, etc., as if you were about to landscape an outdoor patio. Place several artificial bonsai trees throughout this area using any wooden or plastic stakes.
You can even use glass bottles as decorative pieces with sand inside them to create the illusion of seashells.
Conclusion
Gardening is fun and quite easy as well. You don’t need to be a professional gardener to make your garden look attractive and beautiful.
All you need is little creativity and some inexpensive things from a gardening store or hardware shop, and voila. Your own creation is ready in front of you.
