Customer Reviews

Zen Gardening: A Down-to-Earth Philosophy

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This book is not a practical manual on zen gardens. I live in Kyoto Japan and mistakenly bought the book thinking it would give me some help in planning my tsuboniwa (courtyard garden). It is, instead, the author's sometimes interesting personal musings on her garden. If you are really interested in zen gardens I suggest "A Japanese Touch for Your Garden".

I am a yoga instructor who formerly was a landscape designer, and this tiny book is the most important book in my garden book collection. I bought this book even before I became a garden designer, before I amassed a library of design and garden books that are now gathering dust, and way before I became a yoga instructor because the message is simple yet profound. Truly experiencing what life has to offer involves learning to practice mindfulness, being fully present in every moment, and what better place to start than in your own garden -- just being and experiencing, and not always doing. Read a chapter a day and you will not only cultivate your outside garden but also your inner garden.
Namaste....

I'm not a gardener. (I just want the flowers & not the work.) But this book, while indeed wonderful for gardeners, is a wise & charming exploration of zen ideas which can be applied to every aspect of one's life. In fact, I'm reading a chapter each week out loud with a friend (who also doesn't garden) simply to discuss the zen ideas.