How to Make a Shady Meditation Garden

Draw up a master plan. Walk the terrain you've targeted for your meditation garden. Mark the boundaries and record them. Use a computer draw program or sketchpad to set garden perimeters. Whether you're starting from scratch and intend to plant trees, install rocks, water features, seating areas and paths or the area is already mature and ready for grooming, a layout is invaluable and it will save you time, money and energy.

Pick a focal point, and plan to work in concentric circles around it. If you're doing something major such as installing a pool, tackle it first so that you can bury plumbing and/or electrical sources before grooming the remainder of the property. Next, use a rake, shovel and other gardening tools to clear weeds, brush, non-indigenous and predatory plants within meditation garden boundaries. Level the soil with the rake so that it's ready for landscaping.

Build a path of stepping stones, mulch, gravel or bricks that invites the visitor to meander in directions that offer exposure to the unique features within your meditation garden. Once the path is down, plant sections of adjacent property with a mix of perennial flowers and shrubs that form individual landscaping vignettes around rock formations and shade trees. Shrubs make great boundary markers. Jones and Fritch treated each area in their Vail garden as a unique, separate garden. Use this approach and achieve spectacular results.

Create an inviting entrance to your meditation garden. A beautiful entrance suggests the pace at which your shady enclave is to be enjoyed. Build two pillars of bricks and mortar to mark the entrance to your garden path or install a prefabricated wood or iron arch. Plant the adjacent area with vines, clematis, morning glory or other climbing plants, using string to train the greenery to wrap around the architectural feature as it grows. Place a bench and gazing ball at the entrance so that each visitor starts his sensory visit on a relaxed note.

Plant indigenous flowers, wild grasses, shrubs and ground cover only. This is no place for a well-manicured lawn. Stick to perennials that reseed themselves annually, and mix early- and late-spring and summer flowers so that your meditation garden is always in bloom. Fast-growing ground cover works miracles and requires zero care as it wanders over tree roots, filling in empty spaces and clustering around plantings to help the soil retain moisture and nutrients.

Install garden sculptures crafted of found objects or quirky abstract pieces to add character and whimsy to your garden. That stated, tranquility is the objective; this is no place for the gnome collection you fantasize over. Meet your goal by making certain that the human spirit can get lost among the majesty that is nature -- amid towering shade trees, meditative waters and splashes of flowers that invite the weariest soul to breathe deeply and enjoy the company of butterflies and dragonflies.