Elements of a Meditation Garden

Research proves the anxiety-reducing power of both meditation and time outdoors, so why not combine the two? An outdoor space designated and designed for retreat and restoration can improve your well-being, and you don't need a large outdoor area to make it a reality. For example, this bungalow garden, located in the historic Professorville district of Palo Alto, California, sits on a lot of less than a quarter acre. The landscape architecture team carved out a garden retreat that complemented the home, preserved its native plants and exuded the Japanese style the owners so desired. Learn more about the key elements of a meditation garden like this one.

Meditation gardens should feel separated from the rest of the home or outdoor room, and private. In this garden, a rounded Japanese-style gate clearly marks entry into the sacred space. The act of moving through that passageway signals a new experience. Even if your garden — and budget — are much smaller, creating a sense of entry is key.

The stucco wall — and door as a gateway — make this garden space feel separate and sacred. Southwestern-style gardens like this one have an innate sense of enclosure but this effect can be achieved with any style using the features of a wall or fence plus a door or gate.

In this large garden, flagstone walkways make it easy to escape daily stresses with a stroll under the trees. For many, walking or strolling provides the best means of meditation, occupying the body while allowing the mind to wander. Include paths in a meditation garden design of any size. Winding walkways in the tradition of labyrinths and mazes pack a lot of path into a small space.

Used for centuries as a means of walking meditation, the labyrinth design encourages you to go inward, both physically and mentally or emotionally. This labyrinth is laid into the grass using pavers, but you can also mow a temporary labyrinth into grass, a novel option for homeowners.

A meditation garden should provide a respite from the constant distraction of modern life. Limiting the color palette and number of different plants underscores a sense of ease and simplicity. Here, shapes are also limited and repeated, such as the curve of the paving repeated in the outer curve of the Japanese forest grass.

In the backyard of the San Francisco Decorator Showcase 2015, landscape design firm Siol added a berm to carve out an intimate space for reflection and meditation. A crane was used to lift a 15-year-old, drought-tolerant coastal live oak tree into the mounded area, which is lined with cedar shingles.

While it's important not to overload the senses during meditation, some sensory experiences can enhance meditation, including scent. Used in aromatherapy to promote relaxation, lavender makes an excellent choice for a meditation garden. Jasmine and chamomile are other good options.

A meditation garden need not be all about serenity. Little moments of color add a sense of joy. Here, white tulips encircle stone pavers and a fountain, leading the eye and the visitor on a peaceful pathway through this garden. While the addition of seasonal color adds excitement, keeping it simple with one color of tulip maintains the groundedness of the design.

One goal of meditation outdoors is to connect with nature, so it helps to include representatives of the five core elements of nature: wood, earth, water, fire and metal. Plants provide the wood while soil and rock represent earth, but it may be necessary to bring in water through a water feature, fire in a fire pit, and metal through some elements like a gate, fire bowl, or bench. In this elegant space, a gravel patio (earth) surrounds the elegant koi pond (water). Filled with koi and water lilies in bloom, the water reflects the sky above and the surrounding trees and plants (wood).

This outdoor space has them. Surrounded by rock, the designers added grand wooden gates that lead into a stone patio with an adobe-style fireplace. A serene steel-tub water feature transforms the space into a meditation area.

In this Zen-inspired backyard, walls of horizontal wood slats provide a screen for enjoying the water feature as well as the unique gravel area including a rock focal point. This zone is itself a Zen rock garden, a traditional style of outdoor space known for enhancing meditation, sometimes through the act of raking the pebbles.

This once-bare, tiny yard behind a row house in Brooklyn, New York, now features a canopy of plants, such as crepe myrtles and camellias. Landscape designer Michael Van Valkenburgh planted trees that naturally cool the garden terrace and house and created a bird habitat. The new paving is mica schist, which is arranged in a pattern that mimics logs flowing down a river. Using stone provides a grounding effect for the space but arranging the stone in a haphazard pattern helps it feel more natural.

At the center of this Asian garden setting, a stone Japanese statue blends seamlessly into the natural surroundings. Set in an open clearing, the statue's solitary presence evokes quiet contemplation and reflection. While many meditation garden designs give a nod to the tradition of meditation in Asian culture, including Japanese garden design, you can include whatever symbolism speaks to you and provides you with a sense of peace in your own space.

The garden at the San Francisco Decorator Showcase 2014 leads to a final vignette, designed by Kate Webster and Thayer Hopkins, to inspire and encourage reflection — both literally and figuratively. A brick path draws the eye toward the abstract, mirrored sculpture that reflects light and creates the illusion that the pillars are also decorated with the flowers. Vistitors can use the literal reflection to contemplate the power of nature and the self.

A stone altar serves as a focal point in this garden nook created by Sifford Garden Design. In addition to providing a sculptural element, an altar can be a place to stop and gather thoughts, to pray, or to collect objects that hold meaning for you. The surrounding plants in this garden are a simple study in foliage color, texture and shape. The ‘Blue Cascade’ atlas cedar in the foreground catches the eye before directing it to the billowy Thunderhead pine, a Burke’s red pine, a trio of Mr. Bowling Ball arborvitae, and a stand of very narrow and sculptural ‘Van den Akker’ Alaskan cedars.

In this stunning Minnesota landscape, a floating patio island includes benches for sitting and enjoying the space in either solitude or communion with others. While this design is aspirational, the idea of adding a bench can be executed anywhere on any budget, and a bench allows most anyone to enjoy a meditation garden comfortably.

When creating a garden for meditation, it's important to make sure the space resides in harmony with nature. That means providing habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, and not using synthetic chemicals. Native plants, such as coreopsis, are considered keystone plants that some wildlife species need to survive, and are the best plants to use in a wildlife habitat.

This stone space was designed specifically for taking in breathtaking views of the bay. Native grasses and trees help the designed area blend seamlessly into the overall landscape. Fire pits add warmth and another primary element of nature.

In some gardens and backyards, meditation space may be less about overall design theme and more about adding a destination for relaxation. Here, a pergola-covered hammock provides a mini vacation that can be enjoyed daily.

Even if you have a tiny garden, or no garden at all, you can craft a meditation garden from a simple pot, including many of the elements discussed. A container garden can become a destination for meditation inside a home or on a tiny patio.

This outdoor glass structure uses sound as a source of deep meditation and relaxation. The gorgeous outdoor surroundings add to the serenity of this meditation spot.

If you have the space, consider including a spot of yoga. Like in this backyard where a small deck has been nestled into the colorful garden providing the perfect spot for yoga or meditation overlooking the surroundings below.

It is recommended to place a bench or hammock facing east for the morning sun for meditation and contemplation.