In the Garden with Pat Rubin

Bee garden writer Pat Rubin writes about everything that grows, from flowers and trees to vegetables and lawns. Pat volunteered for several years as a Placer County Master Gardener and has written about gardening for many national and regional publications. In addition to gardening, she spends time raising and showing miniature horses and miniature donkeys.

In the Garden will include news, events, advice and other gardening tidbits. Pat will also answer reader questions.

• Ask a question

« Readers weigh in on raccoons in the garden | In the Garden front page | The fall and rise of orchid flowers »

January 15, 2008

Looking for a Zen garden

Q: I hope you can give me some ideas on keeping a Zen garden and living with two young dogs, Honey and Blue. I have a fountain and a pond and am interested in planting only evergreens and or conifers. I’m going to lay down stepping stones on the path they've made along the back fence.
Theresa Coleman, Sacramento

A: Mainly for meditative viewing, a Zen garden can be as small or as large as you like. It’s usually a combination of sand, stones of various sizes and plants, although some are simply compositions of rocks set in raked gravel or sand.

The most common plant choices for a Zen garden include Japanese maples, azaleas, Japanese larch, rhododendrons and conifers. There are many, many dwarf conifers on the market today that grow slowly to only a few feet tall. One of my favorites is the golden edged, dwarf Hinoki cypress. There are also Sasanqua camellias that stay low and could be kept in bounds with a bit of pruning.

You might even try a combination of perennials like heuchera, acorus, carex, hostas, hellebores, dwarf evergreen daylilies, or shrubs like daphne, sarcococca or barberry. It’s your garden, so plant what pleases you even if it’s not a “traditional” Zen garden plant.

Andrew Niemann of Windmill Nursery suggests the golden mop threaddleaf cypress, dwarf mugo pine, teddy arborvitae and the ‘Feelin’ Blue’ deodar cedar. For low growing fillers, he suggests mondo grass and liriope.

Visit your local nursery and take a look at their selection of dwarf conifers. Don’t forget to check their bonsai selection. Remember, the simpler, the better when it comes to a Zen garden.

Ask a question

Please use the form below to submit your question. Because there is a 100-word limit for questions, a word counter is located directly beneath the box where you enter the your question.