7 Ideas for Creating A Spiritual Garden
Image of frog statue in meditative posture by Roland Steinmann from Pixabay
Updated 2024.07.22. This post contains affiliate links and Useful Roots will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links.
Several years ago, I was part of a permaculture group that was asked to help design and build a landscape specifically for spirituality, contemplation and meditation. The project was on the property of a Shambhala meditation center.
This project was such a joy to be a part of.
When we weren’t working on installing the garden, we were free to enjoy the meditation spaces. The managers of the Shambhala meditation center were also extremely easy to work with and contributed to making the space a success.
While this project happened in the recent past, spiritual gardens originally emerged in Japan in the 8th century CE.
In certain cultures, like those in the East, gardens are built with spirituality in mind. However, spirituality in gardening is an idea that is also embraced in the United States. The garden I was building was in the Southeast and I have visited spiritual gardens as far west as California.
What is a spiritual garden?
Spiritual gardens, also called healing or meditation gardens, are landscapes designed for cultivating beauty and peace of mind, built with areas specifically for spiritual contemplation, prayer and meditation.
To start, when designing a spiritual garden, you are looking to create a distinct space(s) that cultivates peace, quiets the mind and stimulates thought. You may want to have safe feeling coves where one can go within, separate from the world.
You’ll use plants to create barriers, certain sounds and inspire touch, alongside intentional hardscaping and water features, to design a personal space that stimulates balance and harmony, while bringing you closer to your connection with the Divine.
Spiritual gardens can be used for quiet reflection, meditation and retreat.
Below are 7 ideas for how to create a spiritual garden ~
Image of stone bench in lush green vegetation by Mariya from Pixabay with text overlay 7 Ideas for Creating A Spiritual Garden
1 - Consider Your Distinct Property Locations
On your property, you may have different sectors, each with their own sun, wind, weather and inhabitants. Even the smallest of outdoor spaces can have microclimates.
Walk around these property areas and explore the different mini-ecosystems you have available to you. Start developing your spiritual garden by focusing on one of these sectors that specifically inspires peace and quiet.
2 - Identify Potential Sitting Areas
For your spiritual garden, you will want to have at least one sitting area. You can add sitting areas with chairs or rocks. In your sitting area, pay attention to the view. Aim to be looking at a focal point you find relaxing.
3 - Create or Tap Into Calming Sounds
Consider the sounds you want to hear in your spiritual garden space. You can create calming sounds by adding certain plants, like Bamboos, or adding windchimes and water features. Water features are usually the element of the spiritual garden that inspires the greatest sense of peace.
You can also add bird calls by attracting birds with feeders and fountains. You can also tap into the natural sounds of the space, by choosing a spot with more pleasant ambient sound than others.
4 - Add Outdoor Art
Outdoor art, like statues, crystals or fountains, can act as material reminders of your spiritual practice.
Think about the visual imagery that inspires you in prayer and meditation and place these pieces as a focal point in your spiritual garden. If you’re looking for garden statues, our favorite place to find these is Hobensack & Keller in New Hope, PA.
5 - Gather Comfort Plants
Choose plants that both fit the ecosystem and feel comforting to you. You may decide on plants with lush vegetation, succulent plants or a medicinal herb garden. There are plants that may remind you of your loved ones or certain spiritual figures.
You want the plants to help you feel supported, so place plants in this space that bring you a sense of ease.
6 - Add Aromas
Think about the fragrances you want to smell in your spiritual garden. Fragrant florals, like roses and jasmines can be relaxing, as can aromatherapy plants, like Lavender and Rosemary. Certain cultivators of fragrant flowers or aromatic herbs can also be more fragrant than others.
Having lovely aromas can be a joy and create bodily pleasure, which can make it easier to disconnect from the world to get into a meditative state.
7 - Create Privacy
You want your spiritual garden to be a place where you can go within, apart from worldly happenings, so you can be at one with yourself and your connection to the Divine. For this reason, it can be helpful to shield this space from neighbors.
Image of outdoor bench along stone wall in lush garden landscape by Jaesung An from Pixabay
What is the spiritual side of gardening?
Gardening connects you to life’s natural rhythms, the gifts of the seasons, the wonder of the natural world, and it connects you to gratitude - being grateful for the growth and bounty that occurs in the garden.
Gardening can give you a sense of patience, oneness and contentment with all that is. It can be a method of witnessing the interconnectedness of all life and visualizing yourself within the giant web of nature.
Gardening can be a way to encounter the fullness of yourself, a way to see yourself as a fleshy creature, as well as one that sees beauty, makes positive choices for the greater good and cooperates harmoniously with other beings.
Gardening also allows you to become part of the creation and manifestation process, because you get to be part of giving birth to ideas and seeing them come to life, which can provide a sense of inner power that brings peace.
All in all, a spiritual garden can be a small space on your property, or it can extend to a larger area, with different contemplation zones, each zone designed to offer its own unique mood and experience.
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