How to Create a Meditation Garden

We all need a place to escape to at the end of a long day at work, somewhere to forget about life’s stresses, recharge and stay balanced. A meditation garden is a perfect place to do this. You can sit and reflect on the day or if you don’t want to meditate, it’s still a place you can use to read, sleep, knit or sing if that’s how you prefer to relax. Meditation gardens are one of 2018’s biggest trends and, as we look to escape from increasingly hectic and busy working and personal lives, it looks like something that could be here to stay for many years to come.

If you want to create your own meditation space in your garden, we've outlined the elements you need to create just the right effect.

1. Keep it Simple

You can't relax in a space that is too busy and overwhelms your senses. So make sure you limit the elements you include in the space and choose plants that are easy to maintain – you don’t want to associate your meditation garden with hard work and lots of maintenance. It should be a space that has the opposite effect and helps you to switch off your mind. Not somewhere that becomes yet another job on a long list of things to do.

Meditation is all about connecting with nature and your surroundings so the simpler the better.

2. Aromatic Flowers

When you have a warm bath or a massage, you tend to use oils or soaps with soothing scents to help you feel relaxed. Fragrances such as aloe, jasmine, rose, chamomile and lavender have soothing qualities so try and include these in your garden somewhere to benefit from the relaxing scents. Make sure don’t include too many as the smell could become overwhelming and have the opposite effect!

3. Find a quiet place

The sounds of birdsong and trickling water might be relaxing sounds but listening to your neighbour rev their car or a lorry bouncing down the road outside are not as relaxing and will distract you from your meditation time. Try and plant tall plants around the borders of your meditation space in order to shield it as much as possible from unwanted outside noises.

4. Add running water

The sounds of running or trickling water have an extremely calming effect. Not only can the sounds helps to block out other outdoor sounds that are not as relaxing, the reflected light from the water can also add ambience and further relaxing features.

Consider fountains, water features and even a bird bath to help you relax further. You can get small water features if you’re limited on space but still want to benefit from the effects. You could even consider a fish pond to add further tranquillity to the space and help you to connect with nature on another level.

5. Choose a separate area

If you have a larger garden, try to separate your meditation space from the rest of the garden to provide yourself with maximum privacy when you’re trying to relax. Try using potted plants or plants with larger leaves in order to shield the space from others. The aim is to hide other houses, people and traffic from the view inside the garden so that you’re not distracted by outdoor elements when you’re trying to relax. If you can see others hanging out their washing or mowing the lawn, your mind will start to wander to think about the unfinished tasks you have to do around the house. Being separated from the rest of the garden will also help to muffle distracting sounds.

6. Seating Area

A huge element of your meditation area is somewhere for you to sit. You might choose to pile cushions in the area, create a bench to sit on or plant a patch of grass so that you can be comfortable when you’re meditating.