Book Description
This carry-along version of our enormously popular Zen Gardening Kit provides a touch of tranquility on the go. Packaged with a 32-page introduction to the aesthetic enlightenment of Zen gardening, it includes a tray, fine sand, decorative rocks, and a miniature wooden rake.
Customer Reviews:
A little bit of zen in a little box.......2004-04-01
If you are a zen master, or just a stessed out person, Get the zen garden. It features a base, sand, a rake, book and rocks to calm down all of your nerves, Chinese style.
The authentic feel of this zen garden is great. It feels very authentic, with all real parts that will make you feel like a real gardener. A good travel product, although not for bumpy and jerk trips, because the sand would come out.(sand out= big mess.)
Other zen gardens are to big to take along. That's why this is a great product. Get it so you will be relaxed, home or away.
Overall a great product. Makes a great gift for a zen master who travels alot.
Compact and Cool.......2003-01-01
This mini Zen Garden is definitely something for people interested in the gardens. It is a great way to have the beautiful garden on your desk or bedside or anything! Although the box is cardboard and they really aren't rocks, the Mini Zen Garden kit is something lovers of Zen and Gardens will enjoy!
an itty bitty bit of zen.......2001-06-19
when they say "mini," they're not kidding. the zen box that comes with this little book is pretty tiny - this, in turn, makes it hard to make truly zen-like patterns in the sand.
also, a word to the wise... don't leave the box too close to the edge of your desk, least some malicious co-worker knock it on the ground... this happened to me, and i was only able to recover about 50% of my sand...
but in the end, it is a good "conversation piece"
You've got to be kidding!!!.......2001-05-17
I know the saying you get what you pay for but this is ridiculous. The "kit" comes w/ a small bag of sand and 3 miniature rock chips, they can't be considered rocks in my opinion. They're just too small, they get lost in the sand. The "tray" is nothing more than a cardboard box top! And the miniature rake is so small and delicate that it fell apart the first time I used it. The kit is reasonably priced I guess for what you get, but w/ ... s&h it is not even close to being worth [the price]. If I wouldn't lose money by sending it back I would. Don't waste your time and money w/ this one, you can make your own for about the same price by going to a garden shop and buying a bag of sand and gathering your own choice of rocks. The rakes are harder to come by so I made my own out of old wooden chopsticks and my homemade garden is much nicer than this ...
A little bit of Zen.......2001-03-25
The mini Zen gardening kit it really a cute little kit. I've always wanted a Zen garden, but I'd never seriously considered getting one until I saw this one. The kit, with it's little box, a wooden rake, rocks, sand, and a small book is a lot more than I was expecting.
The Zen Garden included with the book is cute, and more functional that I thought it would be. While the garden is 2.5 inches by 3 inches, there's a surprising amount of sand included, which gives you a pretty full garden, and if you have cats like I do, you have enough sand to still be able to rake around the rocks after they've knocked a lot of it out. The rocks are dark and shiny, and actual rocks, not some kind of plastic blob molded to look like a rock, and the little rake is a miniature of the wooden rakes I've seen in larger Zen gardens.
The little book included in the kit is cute, and contains quite a bit of information on Zen gardens. There are a few pages of Chinese lettering included as separators between the chapters, and the lettering is a nice change from the pages of black text on white paper. I am a bit disappointed in the book though, when I finally opened it wide enough to comfortable, I could see the thread they used to bind the book. This concerns me a bit, I don't want to wreck the book by simply reading it.
Book Description
The Japanese Zen garden is a triumph of simplicity, a space in which balance is emphasized to create a place of stillness and sanctuary.
Zen in Your Garden offers readers a comprehensive and practical guide to creating a sacred space for meditation and contemplation. Learn how your garden can stimulate your senses to either energize or soothe you, and discover what type of garden you need, as well as how to convert your existing garden to one designed on Zen principles. Boxed features, illustrated with detailed drawings, show you how to build specific features such as gravel and rock landscapes.
Zen in Your Garden includes beautiful photographs of outstanding gardens from around the world to help you consider the various styles you might wish to work on --rock and gravel; water gardens; shade, moss, and woodland; courtyards; and nature and wildlife gardens. Planting is explored in detail so that you may choose a landscape that has something for all seasons and creates a pleasing form and balance. This book beautifully illustrates and clearly details the many elements of gardening from a Zen perspective and offers you both the creative inspiration and the practical guidance to develop your own.
Contents: Introduction; Zen gardens: a modern interpretation; Water gardens; Nature and wildlife gardens; Planting guidelines; Zen in a small place
Customer Reviews:
limited usefulness.......2006-09-21
This book has more in common with a glossy gardening magazine than a book of either oriental style landscaping or zen philosophy. There's lots of pretty pictures (which you may find inspirational) but the advice in the text if fairly shallow. The connection to zen is a bit nebulous... and seems to exist mostly to add some sort of deeper legitamacy to the book.
A pleasure to read........2005-09-06
After reading this as a library book I wanted it in my personal library. A Japanese garden is not my goal - a serene and calm landscape is. I found inspiration and sound principles to work with in ZEN IN MY GARDEN. A pleasure to read.
Excellent guide to Zen for Western gardens........2002-09-03
I am a beginner at Zen, but from what I know of the underlying ideas and principles from reading several authors, this book captures the essence of what one would need to create a place for quiet contemplation. Stunning pictures!
Book Description
All the universe is contained within a flower...this is the essence of Zen-Buddhism and also all the universe is contained within a flower.
Book Description
Drawing from his own considerable gardening experience and expertise, as well as leaning on the wisdom of the people he calls "The Zen Masters of the Western Garden," David Wann gathers a mix of stories, how-to advice, and simple, doable projects that are ideal for gardeners in the high and arid landscapes of the West. The Zen of Gardening in the High and Arid West is a friendly and invaluable guide to such topics as strategic gardening (how to coax fruits and vegetables from a sun-parched garden), pest-proof planting (how to protect those disappearing bulbs), choosing the right varieties of edibles for the region (apples, snow peas, tomatoes, etc.), how to become a seed-starting maniac, a Farmer's Almanac approach to gardening (plant peas when the first cottonwood leaves appear!), as well as profiles of colorful local gardens and gardeners.
For gardeners of the high plains and mountains who are "meteorologically and topographically challenged," who routinely grapple with wild weather swings, high elevations, and scarcity of water, Wann offers inspiration and invaluable practical advice for success in the garden. Wann also shows how gardening can offer "a Zen exercise in mindfulness, discipline, and the joy of being right in the moment."
Customer Reviews:
Indispensible.......2007-03-31
This book is the single best resource for gardners in Colorado, especially those who lean organic, as I do. It is a book with passion, integrity, and common sense. I had the pleasure of meeting David at a small speaking engagement last year, and he is everything one would expect. I am shocked that there aren't more reviews here for this masterpiece. Gardening here can be hard, especially if one doesn't want to enrich corporate giants who use synthetic chemicals to force things. This book got me through some very discouraging gardening frustrations -- it kept my passion alive and my fingernails dirty. Get this book!!!! If your heart is in the soil, this book will become a very good friend.
Gardening, Memoirs, Humor, and more.......2004-01-06
Although the title of the book includes "in the High and Arid West," this delightful book would amuse and impress any gardener. Although I live in the geographic region covered, many of the gardening tips and techniques simply don't apply to me since I live over 2,000 feet higher than does David Wann, plus his down home methods simply wouldn't fly with my homeowner's association. Nonetheless, I thouroughly enjoyed this book for its infectious attitude. I picked it up expecting to thumb through it and then read straight through. Quite a unique offering in the world of garden literature and highly recommended.
Fun, entertaining, and full of useful acvice.......2003-05-15
This delightful and captivating book on gardening reads like a best-selling novel. The writing is creative and often uproariously funny. I often found myself laughing out loud, even on airplanes, as I turned the pages of this wonderful book.
Although highly entertaining -- and worth reading on that basis alone -- the book is also jam packed with good, practical information. I've learned an enormous amount about gardening in high and arid West -- and I've been gardening here for well over 15 years. This book will also inspire those who have become frustrated with gardening in this sometimes capricious region!
I can't wait to put many of Dave's ideas into practice.
Opened My Eyes About Gardening in the West.......2003-05-06
In a world so filled with stress, poor health, and daily activities that lack meaning, it's great to have places of refuge, and David Wann's The Zen of Gardening is such a place. Filled with passion, "dry" humor, and hard-won gardening wisdom, the book makes even black thumbs like myself want to dig up a space in my backyard.
Not only does he draw on his own 25 years of gardening, but also taps the experience of some of "the fastest trowels in the west," which he estimates to be a collective 500 years of growing. The reader learns about the life teeming in a shovel full of organic soil, about the chemical signals transmitted between various species in a garden, and about the best varieties of vegetables, flowers, trees and shrubs to plant in a "meteorologically challenged" region.
I had a hard time putting the book down, because the writing is so lively, and I found myself absorbing information effortlessly, the way a plant soaks up water!
Amazon.com
A Zen garden can be an oasis in a busy world, a space of calm, tranquility, and beauty, a thing apart from the hectic pace of our lives. Whether a tiny courtyard or larger outdoor space, Zen gardens have in common their few, simple elements arranged to honor nature and celebrate its changing seasons. The design of Zen Gardening contributes to our understanding of the aesthetic, as it is as artful and focused as a Zen garden itself.
How to create such harmony and peace outside our own doors and windows? Sunniva Harte's book inspires with numerous large color photos showing whole landscapes devoted to rocks, sand, and water, or cozy gardens with a few vital Zen elements. But Zen gardens are more than raked sand and a few carefully placed rocks: an entire chapter is devoted to plants for Zen gardens. It begins with a quote from the Japanese poet Kikaku--"Full autumn moon on the straw mat, pine shadow"--and goes on to explain how plants have long been valued in Japan for their changing with the seasons and their sensuousness and textural qualities. Ornamental grasses, pines, Japanese maples, iris, bamboo, mosses, and even hostas are shown used in the Zen manner, with instructions on placement, care, and pruning. Harte also gives instruction on design, architecture, pathways, and materials for Zen gardens.
Those who would like to incorporate a bit of the Zen feeling of tranquility into their everyday gardens, but who don't want to do a total garden remodel, will appreciate the chapter on ornamentation. Lovingly chosen ornaments enhance the Zen atmosphere, serving symbolic purposes as well as working as focal points and humanizing the garden. A variety of simple additions--such as stone urns and lanterns, carved Buddhas, trays of special rocks, decorative wrappings, water basins, and bonsai--personalize and lend an aura of Zen tranquility, much as Zen poet Ikkyu's poem does: "When, just as they are, white dewdrops gather on scarlet maple leaves, regard the scarlet beads!" --Valerie Easton
Book Description
Zen Gardening places every aspect of creating a Zen garden at the hands of today's gardeners. This unique book simplifies the complex principles adopted centuries ago by Buddhist monks, explores their aims in creating outdoor spaces along Zen principles, and reveals the meaning of the different elements and their juxtaposition.
Gardeners will learn to create a controlled and harmonious environment-and, in the process, to nourish the spirit and allow anxiety to gently subside, making room for quiet reflection.
Customer Reviews:
Why rather than how........2004-07-14
This book will not tell you how to build a Japanese Zen garden. What this book will do however, is tell you what should be in your garden, where it should be and why it should (or shouldn't) be there.
Sunniva Harte does a fine job of explaining the concept of Japanese gardening (Zen being one style), ably assisted by a veritable trove of glossy photographs showing Zen gardening at its best.
Purchase this book if you wish to understand the concepts behind Zen gardening. Don't purchase this if you're looking for a 'how to' on Zen garden creation. Nice book.
Beautiful book..........2002-10-05
but not the only one to own. Wonderful images and good explanation of philosophy, but if you are wanting a nuts and bolts, this is how to do it, this book is not the one. I would add it to a collection of several. I have read it a number of times times and get more out of it each time.
Visual Zen.......2001-10-28
One of the most beautiful photographic representations of oriental garden design available. The photographs and writing are both of excellent quality. The format of the book is put together in a very appealing manner and the overall impression is of a writer who is sensitive to the style and philosophy of the gardens. A sense of quiet and calm pervades throughout. Sunniva loves gardens, people, photography and writing. She is multi-talented and it shows.
inspirational book.......2001-09-15
The strength of this book is it's illustrations. It is not a this is how to do it book. It is one to understand and appreciate the aesthetics. I would recommend it.
A good introduction book for Japanese garden.......2000-06-16
If you are a beginner of japanese garden, this is a good book to start. It introduces different garden styles and the spirit of Zen.
Book Description
IN THE TRADITION OF JAPANESE TOUCH FOR YOUR GARDEN, THE PERFECT BOOK FOR CONTEMPOLATING A ZEN-STYLE GARDEN FOR HOME OR TOWNHOUSE, YARD OR BALCONY.
Japanese gardens are renowned for their serene and peaceful ambiance. The New Zen Garden presents the Japanese garden as it exists today, with all its traditional qualities joined to modern architecture and viewed from a modern perspective.
This book takes the concept introduced in the best-selling Japanese Touch for Your Garden and, focusing on the more contemplative gardens that are drawing greater and greater attention, blends it with a more practical approach.
Lavishly illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs and featuring the works of contemporary garden designers and landscape architects, The New Zen Garden begins with a brief introduction of the history of the Japanese garden and its spiritual roots. It then guides the reader through
the basics of garden concepts, layout, and personal needs.
With a focus on small- and medium-size home gardens, author Joseph Cali introduces a visually explicit process in which anyone can conceive their own home garden, whether for a single-family residence or the balcony of an apartment or townhouse. Cali also includes a handful "spotlight sections" that
feature guidance from prominent Japanese garden designers, each of whom steers the reader step-by-step through a specific building technique, including the making of textured clay walls, traditional stone walkways, and stone settings.
The New Zen Garden provides a wealth of information on designing a garden to harmonize with any home or private space. It is a provocative eye-opener both for the serious Japanese garden enthusiast and the weekend gardener.
Customer Reviews:
A wonderful book!.......2004-10-04
This book is itself a work of art, the best I've ever seen in the field. The photographs convey the quiet, peaceful, beauty of small Zen gardens so well, that it is a joy to look at. Mr. Cali's text clearly introduces and explains both the historical background and the philosophical/aesthetic concepts behind Zen gardens. The traditional techniques to create your own garden space, large or small, are explained clearly enough to give anyone the confidence to create even a tiny oasis of natural peace within their home environment. This is best book on zen gardens to come out in a long time. Highly recommended.
Average customer rating:
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Zen Gardens: Kyoto's nature enclosed
Thomas Wright
Manufacturer: Mitsumura Suiko Shoin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Photo Essays
| Photography
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Zen
| Buddhism
| Religion & Spirituality
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| Books
General
| Religion & Spirituality
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| Books
ASIN: 4838101112 |
Book Description
Kieran Egan had a fantasy. Inspired by a visit to a friend's miniature Zen garden on a balcony in Nagoya, he returned home determined to build his own Japanese garden. Like many men his age, with kids grown up and moved away, he was ready to tackle something new and tackle was the right word. Even before he began, he had to spend days hacking at the overgrown thicket where his garden would be. At night, dreaming of roots with nothing to do but grow, he thought less about Zen masters than about Dorothy Parker, who observed, "Every year, back comes spring, with nasty little birds yapping their fool heads off and the ground all mucked up with plants." In spite of the running conflict between Zen philosophy and his own rather slapdash methods, he succeeded in creating "a treat for the eye and spirit." Like Michael Pollan's A PLACE OF MY OWN, BUILDING MY ZEN GARDEN will appeal to men, and to women as a gift for men. In these prosperous times, when men of the baby-boom generation are often looking for something new, building a Zen garden could very well be it even if, after reading and laughing at the author's adventures, they never build one themselves.
Customer Reviews:
fun book.......2006-09-21
While this isn't an all inclusive guide to japanese gardening, its a fun and inspiring read. After reading this book I set about building my own japanse style garden; and while I didn't find myself referring to it for specifics of actually building the garden - I did find myself referring to it for motivation. Egan's self-effacing sense of humour is particularly enjoyable, as he struggles with such tribulations as moving a large rock, or dealing with a leaking pond (problems that I also found myself dealing with). I would highly recommend this book to any do-it-yourselfer thinking about building a japansese style garden.
Go to Amazon dot com and get it!.......2000-11-30
Get this book if you have been suspicious about the hype surrounding the Zen of garden building or if you want a hilarious account of a brave amateur confronting the sham purity of Japanese garden design. But this is also a serious and wryly understated account of how to confront the task armed with the basic philosophy of the design of a garden and teahouse, and as well, a humorous introduction to the kind of characters you might meet if you go past the DIY stores to meet the suppliers.
Average customer rating:
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Art of the Bonsai Potato Kit
Jeffrey E. Fitzsimmons
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Ring-bound
General
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Vegetables
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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Zen
| Buddhism
| Religion & Spirituality
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All Deals
| Blowout Books
| Stores
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Entertainment
| Blowout Books
| Stores
| Books
Home & Garden
| Blowout Books
| Stores
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Religion & Spirituality
| Blowout Books
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 0762418176 |
Book Description
Our Bonsai Potato takes 4 to 6 weeks to grow, versus a lifetime for a traditional bonsai tree-and the potato does all the work, since it requires no sun, water, or fertilizer. Since 2001, our Miniature Editions(tm) Bonsai Mini Kit(tm) has sold more than 800,000 copies, and the Bonsai Potato is a proven seller in gift shops around the country. This tongue-in-cheek book-plus is a humorous poke at Western culture's desire for inner peace and tranquility coupled with our desire for instant gratification and chronic lack of time. Now, at least a semblance of inner harmony can be achieved in a fraction of the time it takes to nurture a real bonsai. Potato not included.
Customer Reviews:
FUNNY! FUNNY! FUNNY!.......2003-11-07
I recently purchased the "Art of the Bonsai Potato" kit for my husband who enjoys a good laugh now and then, and he loved it. I read the book as well, and we have both began our own "Zen cultivation" operation in an unused cupboard in our kitchen. They're fun, quirky, and great for kids, too. Young and old will appreciate the quick-witted tongue-and-cheek writing in the book included in the kit, and the Bonsai Potatoes are fun and easy to grow and "maintain" with the handy-dandy clippers and tweezers included! This kit makes a superb little gifts or stocking-stuffers at Christmas (or big-money dreidel ante at Chanukah!). Also, in doing a little more research on "Potato Bonsai," I discovered even more information on this new artform on the internet! This kit is very cool, and I would recommend it to anyone with a sense of humor and an open mind!
Book Description
The Japanese dry landscape garden has long attracted—and long baffled—viewers from the West. While museums across the United States are replicating these "Zen rock gardens" in their courtyards and miniature versions of the gardens are now office decorations, they remain enigmatic, their philosophical and aesthetic significance obscured. Reading Zen in the Rocks, the classic essay on the karesansui garden by French art historian François Berthier, has now been translated by Graham Parkes, giving English-speaking readers a concise, thorough, and beautifully illustrated history of these gardens.
Berthier's guided tour of the famous garden of Ryoanji (Temple) in Kyoto leads him into an exposition of the genre, focusing on its Chinese antecedents and affiliations with Taoist ideas and Chinese landscape painting. He traces the roles of Shinto and Zen Buddhism in the evolution of the garden and also considers how manual laborers from the lowest classes in Japan had a hand in creating some of its highest examples. Parkes contributes an equally original and substantive essay which delves into the philosophical importance of rocks and their "language of stone," delineating the difference between Chinese and Japanese rock gardens and their relationship to Buddhism. Together, the two essays compose one of the most comprehensive and elegantly written studies of this haunting garden form.
Reading Zen in the Rocks is fully illustrated with photographs of all the major gardens discussed, making it a handsome addition to the library of anyone interested in gardening, Eastern philosophy, and the combination of the two that the karesansui so superbly represents.
Praise for the French edition:
"A small book of rare depth, remarkably illustrated, on one of the most celebrated and beautiful rock gardens of the monasteries of Kyoto."—L'Humanité
"Through Le Jardin de Ryoanji, Berthier teaches us to read the zen in the rocks, to discover the language offered by the garden at Ryoanji. Enigmatic, poetic, and disconcerting, an enriching journey through a work of art of surprising modernity, Le Jardin de Ryoanji is a work that will interest all the amateurs of Japanese art and Eastern philosophy."—Lien Horticole
Customer Reviews:
Better in the French edition........2000-06-25
A Frenchman explaining Zen and Japanese gardens, translated into English, makes for an international headache. Some good insights, yes. A lot of pseudo-Zen philosophical nonsense, yes. Best read with a glass of wine (French) in hand.
A great book to understand Zen spirit.......2000-06-16
It's a good book on the subject of Zen. It introduces the spirit of Zen in terms of the number and location of rocks. You can't miss it.
Books:
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- The Secret Garden (HarperClassics)
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- The Woman Who Walked into the Sea (Jeff Jackson/Martha's Vineyard Mystery)
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