Landscaping Ideas: Japanese Garden & Zen Garden Inspiration

Are you searching for simple landscaping ideas? Then you may want to consider some Japanese garden ideas for landscaping your backyard!

At Palmettoscapes Landscape Supply, we offer a variety of materials and services that will help  make your dream of a backyard zen garden become a reality. We’ll get to how you can create a Japanese garden right at home in just a second, but first let’s answer a question for those who may be unfamiliar with what we’re talking about.

What is a Zen Garden?

A zen garden, often referred to as a Japanese Rock Garden or a Japanese Stone Garden, is a garden that is made up of a dry landscape and uses materials such as rocks, gravel, sand as well as various plants throughout. Those with a zen garden usually make a swirling pattern in the sand or gravel to represent water. Japanese rock gardens are used as a place for meditation and relaxation. That’s why we recommend a zen garden for those who are looking for simple landscaping ideas for their backyard.

What is a Japanese Garden?

While a zen garden is a type of Japanese garden, Japanese gardens aren’t always zen gardens. We hope we didn’t confuse you there, but to clarify – a Japanese garden is a traditional garden that uses Japanese aesthetics. These types of gardens use the natural landscape and avoid utilizing artificial ornamentation. A Japanese garden is the perfect choice for those looking for simple landscaping ideas. 

Of course, there are a lot of complexities associated with Japanese gardens and zen gardens, but these are the basic overarching concepts that are easy to understand.

If you’ve gone through your list of landscaping ideas and have settled on the plan of creating a Japanese garden or zen garden in your backyard, then you’ve come to the right place. 

Landscaping Ideas – Hardscapes for Your Japanese Garden & Zen Garden

Both Japanese gardens and zen gardens use rock formations in their aesthetics. At Palmettoscapes Landscape Supply, we offer a variety of hardscape to choose from that will make your zen garden or Japanese garden feel complete. Use our hardscape to build walls around your garden, create raised beds for zen garden plants like bonsai trees, or use as decorative rock or even stepping stones.

Landscaping Ideas – Aggregate for Your Japanese Garden & Zen Garden

Since zen gardens are dry gardens, then you’ll need some sand or gravel. Lucky for you, we offer an array of aggregate types so that you can find the best material for your zen garden design. If you don’t want to do a zen garden and would rather have a Japanese garden design, you can use rocks and pebbles as filler around statues and stepping stones and in other areas of your garden.

Landscaping Ideas – Water Features for Your Japanese Garden & Zen Garden

Another great landscaping idea for your backyard garden design inspired by Japanese and zen gardens is to include a water feature. We can help you figure out exactly what you need and connect you with a professional contractor who will help you build a fountain or other water feature for your zen garden. Don’t want a fountain? Consider a waterfall or even a fish pond with koi or goldfish to add to the natural Japanese aesthetic.

Want to get started on your landscaping ideas for your backyard Japanese garden or zen garden? Click the “Start a Project” button on our homepage to learn more!