About Zen Gardens

Components

• There are three main components of a Zen garden. They are the sand/gravel, the rocks and stones and the plants and trees.

Architecture

• Larger Zen gardens incorporate winding pathways, small buildings and gazebo-type structures throughout. These are meant to give visitors additional things to meditate on.

Water

• There is never any water in a Zen garden. Instead, the sand or gravel is raked to form lines that are supposed to represent the ripples and waves in water.

Raking

• Raking the sand or gravel in a Zen garden is a meditative practice. It takes a good deal of concentration to make perfect lines and curves, so many people find the process calming.

Geography

• Zen gardens hail from Japan, which still has the most beautiful examples of the gardens in the world. Kyoto has six major Zen gardens, the highest concentration in Japan.