Zen Garden Features

• Japanese Zen gardens date back to at least the 6th century, according to the Washington State University Clark County Extension. If you have a flat area in your backyard, or even on your patio, you can easily create such a landscape for contemplation and relaxation. It is an ideal choice for those who want to garden without water, although water as an element is represented. Zen gardens consist of rocks, which symbolize mountains, islands and even plants or animals; and sand, which symbolizes water or the sea. Washington State University recommends using crushed granite with angular, rather than rounded edges, for sand. Let your landscape and your imagination of a seascape dictate the placement of weathered, gray rocks. Once you're done with the design, you can rake the sand in different designs whenever you need to relax or reflect on life.
  
  

Pondless Water Gardens

• If you would like a water garden in your yard, but do not have enough room for a pond, you can create one out of a planter, gardening container, barrel or bird bath. Place your water container on top of a table or above ground, or bury it so that the rim is at ground level. Fill the container with water. If you want, add submerged, surface or bog plants, like those you would add to a pond. You can surround your water container garden with decorative rocks and perennials or annuals. To hear the soothing sound of trickling water, buy a small fountain spout and a water pump. You can also make your own simple fountains by drilling holes in ceramic pots or plastic bottles and positioning them above the garden.
  
  

Ponds and Waterfalls

• For a larger-scale water garden, create a pond with or without a waterfall. Use flat, rectangular rocks to create the cascades of the waterfall and rocks of varying sizes to border your pond in a natural way. After digging a hole with a flat bottom, insert a pond liner and hold it in place with the surrounding rocks. If you are incorporating a waterfall, you also need a waterfall tank and a water pump. Add floating, surface, submerged and marginal plants that are adaptable to an aquatic environment.
  
  

Rock Garden Features

• You have a lot of freedom when designing a water-free rock garden. You can create such a garden on a slope, which represents the mountainous regions from where such gardens originated, or a flat location. "Canadian Gardening" magazine recommends using the same type and color of rock if you are going for a natural look. If you feel like making more of a statement, use a variety of colors and textures. If the rocks have pronounced layers or strata, they should be arranged in a way that their layers all go in the same direction. Ultimately, place the rocks in a fashion that meshes with the rest of your landscape. You have the option of placing your rock garden in a soil bed and incorporating alpine or other suitable plants.
  
  

Plants

• For a rock garden on a slope, you can use alpine plants such as black chokeberry, creeping juniper, bell flowers and creeping baby's breath. "Canadian Gardening" magazine recommends planting slow-growing shrubs and larger plants next to boulders or big rocks, and planting smaller annuals and perennials next to smaller rocks. For container water gardens and ponds, you can incorporate floating plants, such as water hyacinth and water lettuce; surface plants, such as water lilies and lotuses; and, submerged plants, such as hornwort and cabomba. The latter are especially important as they oxgenate the water for fish and other members of the pond ecosystem. You can plant bog plants, such as water canna and rushes, on the edge of your pond where the soil is moist.