The Art of Zen Gardens: A Guide to Their Creation and Enjoyment

More than 600 years ago, the Zen priest-gardeners of Japan developed simple techniques to create visually stimulating outdoor environments that are also oasis of peace and serenity. The Art of Zen Gardens is the first book explaining the history and philosophy behind this Japanese garden art and giving step-by-step instructions for creating your own Zen garden, even in very limited space. This practical volume provides more than 100 line illustrations showing you how to use gravel and stones to suggest the ripples and eddies of moving water, build earth mounds that represent mountains, create a small pond to serve as the “heart of the garden”, select lanterns to use as focal points, enhance the sounds in a garden – the trickling of water, the clacking of bamboo, the crunch of a gravel path, construct small bridges and waterfalls, develope the illusion of space using paths, rock formations and shrubbery.