My Zen Garden: Let it Rain

In the summer rain

the path

has disappeared

- Yosa Buson

I finally finished the mini-Zen garden alongside the porch/back steps today.

It has taken me a few weeks of painting and planning the final look of the garden. I had several plans in mind, but all required that I prep the area for the installation of the rain chain. Beneath the chain I installed a bucket with holes in the bottom for drainage. I then filled it halfway with rocks and then installed a coated metal screen atop that was salvaged from some old vegetable garden fencing.

There was no need for a full drainage pipe system since the ground here is sandy, but also the roof of the back step is small and will not displace a lot of rain. The roof of the main house has a full length gutter that will divert most water to the far corner of the house and then into the planting bed and lawn.

I then experimented with a mini-Zen garden design based on a "fake" stream bed filled with black Mexican stone. I had a lot of this stone left over from the old bed along the stroll garden that was removed a couple years ago. I also had a pile of left over random rocks to create a "stream" edge.

I placed some potted plants within to get an idea about what it might look like when filled with plants. I was originally going to place a Spirea in front of the window to screen it from view.

After looking at it a few days I decided to abandon this design. It looked artificial, especially since the "fake" stream didn't really go anywhere. I then attempted to replicate a design I saw at the Morikami Japanese Garden in Florida.

Morikami Japanese Garden

I had two stones from my left-over pile that I thought might work as the central focus, but I wasn't in love with them.

I then acquired some more stones, all of which had flat bottoms for easy install.

I finally decided on the two black volcanic rocks in the middle. They looked great and had nice flat bottoms. Together they only cost $5. The only problem was that they were a bit smaller in hight than what I was hoping for, and they have lots of sharp razor like edges which can cut one's hands up very easily (as I discovered the hard way). On the other hand, because they are flat, I don't need to install them into the ground. Instead, they can rest on the base layer and if I decide to change the appearance in the future, I can simply lift them up and move them around.

I also had to decide on what medium I would use for the "sand." Finding affordable crushed granite in my area was impossible. So, on the advice of my friend, and fellow gardener, Stan Hobbs (who maintains his own Japanese stroll garden), I opted for chicken grit. Its better than pea-stone, which is too round and smooth to hold a raked pattern. Instead, the chicken grit has lots of angles and can maintain a pattern, as long as you have a layer of 4 inches.

My small garden area required four 50 pound bags. At $16 a bag, I thought it was a reasonable expense.

When dry, its has a nice white shine to it, which offsets the black volcanic rock perfectly. It also contrasts with the surrounding black Mexican stone. However, when wet, it darkens considerably.

It should also be noted that I decided against the Morikami design and eliminated the square frame over the drainage basin. Instead, I simply filled in the area with black Mexican stone. It allowed me to keep the curve of the edging I had already installed, and eliminated all the right angles that did not work well with that curve. I actually think it looks a lot more natural.

Traditionally, I should have used granite for the surrounding paver edge. Again, I could not afford long, large granite pieces for the frame. However, I had a large collection of brick pavers left over from the vegetable garden redo last summer. I decided that the red brick, although not very "Japanese," would work well to tie in the bed with the house which has red brick along the wall. It not only saved a lot of money by recycling the brick, I also think it looks nice with the house and the deck of the new back porch/steps.

I also added a Japanese Painted Fern to the back left corner along the house to break up the foundation wall and add a bit of interest. Next year it will probably look nicer when it grows in place rather than looking like a transplant.

To the right of the large round stone at the front of the bed (behind the Forest Grass) I placed a small Sedum that was transplanted from elsewhere in the garden. I like the green color and the texture of the plant, and I also especially like that it will not grow large and obscure the face of the large rock.

Finally, with the rain chain installed, the mini-Zen garden was done! Five minutes later, a thunder storm and heavy rain began. I have never been so happily excited about rain in my life.

Seeing the rain chain in action was exhilarating. I have spent years thinking about this very moment, my dreams filled with visions of rain chains and rain. It was awesome!