The focus of a beautiful garden is the inspiration, calmness and beauty to the eye that it provides. You may have a garden that also provides herbs for cooking and healing, but whatever the reason and wherever the garden is located, the paths that meander through it should be considered in the design.

Pathways in your garden should link areas of your garden. For example, if you have a pond or large water feature that’s some distance from the house or outdoor dining areas, a winding and attractive pathway can be a great design feature.

Here are some creative designs that can add aesthetic value to your garden area:

Natural Stone

If done correctly, a natural stone pathway can help to transition the levels and areas of the garden. Natural stone fits beautifully into the landscape and are great for any type of garden design. Rock materials, fieldstone or bricks are great to use in garden pathways. Continue reading →

The evidence is in that the use of healing or therapeutic gardens for older citizens is beneficial to their well being. There have been many psychological and physical benefits documented that prove gardening provides natural relief from a myriad of issues that plague senior citizens.

It’s especially helpful to have a plot for growing vegetables, fruit and herbs so that those who are physically able to work in the garden can improve their physical strength in things like hand-grip, reducing blood pressure and anxiety by lessening stress, and improving the body mass index. Continue reading →

Creating a healing garden that’s easy to maintain is all in the initial design element. If you want a healing garden, it’s likely that you need to spend time enjoying the ambiance of it and not spending all your time maintaining it.

Since the design element is so crucial to the maintenance issues of your healing garden, it’s best that you spend some time in research about the size and scope of the garden you want, versus how much time you have to spend taking care of it.

A large pond with Koi and water features may sound like the ideal garden space to relax and meditate, but in reality, this type of garden is going to take a lot of your off time maintaining.

If you can afford a gardener to take care of it or are retired and enjoy the maintenance part of gardening, go for it. Otherwise, take some time to research garden ideas and then make decisions on the design elements.

Many people are happy with xeric (zen-like) gardens that are simplistic, but that offer some excellent elements that can become a place where you can hang out with a book or friends or meditate to your heart’s content.

Choosing plants and other features that make for easy maintenance is also crucial for an easy to maintain healing garden. Those plants that need to be dead-headed or pruned periodically may not be for you. Continue reading →