Worried About Your Imperfect Garden? The 'Wabi-Sabi' Concept Might Just Be What You Need

Sprawled inside Japan’s Myokian Temple, two tatami mats and some rustic Raku pots tell the tale of a man who infamously illustrated the concept of “Wabi-sabi” about 434 years ago. This man, Sen no Rikyū, visited a great tea master, Takeeno Joo, to learn the “Way of Tea.” To test his dedication, Joo asked him to tend to the garden. As the fashion company Olaf Olsson describes, Rikyu first raked and cleaned the garden, then deliberately shook a cherry tree to scatter its petals on the garden floor; otherwise, the garden would be too perfect, too unnatural. Wabi-Sabi refers to seeing “beauty in imperfection and impermanence.” According to a report by Yardzen, the concept has rooted itself in the hearts of many gardeners who are now employing it in their gardening aesthetic.

The core idea of Wabi-Sabi

Carnegie Library defines “Wabi-sabi” as a Japanese aesthetic concept that “encourages us to appreciate that nothing is truly perfect or permanent.” From a new crack in your flower vase to the sudden ripping of your favorite dress to the more astronomical losses and griefs of life, the idea of Wabi-sabi is intended to embrace the imperfections of life. By looking at the imperfections with an unbiased perspective, they turn into perfectly imperfect pieces of art and beauty.

Entrenched with the philosophy of Zen Buddhism, the idea of Wabi-sabi celebrates the transience, the temporariness, and the fleeting nature of things in life, rather than mourning these. In the context of gardening, it refers to a Japanese-inspired garden aesthetic wherein gardeners embrace nature’s rhythms and take inspiration from natural elements to set up their garden.

Embrace the imperfection

"Wabi-sabi gives gardeners license to be imperfect. Not only is this forgiving to people who lack the time, or inclination, to maintain a pristine formal garden, it is intrinsically more aligned with nature,” Kevin Lenhart, design director for Yardzen, the landscaping design company, told Real Simple. The company’s website added that requests for wabi–sabi–inspired designs have risen over 100% in the past year.

Elements to incorporate in your Wabi-Sabi garden

A Wabi-sabi-inspired outdoor space calls for imitating the natural environment and embracing nature’s flow, often featuring elements that bubble with humble and serene undertones. Focus on natural textures and wild nature-mimicking colors to turn your garden into a lush pocket breathing with tranquil life energy.

Choose plants that change with the seasons

As the idea suggests, a Wabi-Sabi garden will shine at its best when incorporated with plants and objects that are dynamic, that change with the seasons. Gardening Know How recommends planting perennials and self-seeding plants. Over time, these plants will automatically spread throughout the garden and establish their own patch for blooming and blossoming. Experts warn gardeners to avoid deadheading the flowers. Allow your flowers and plants to display their seed pods during autumn and winter as well.

Other factors to consider for Wabi-Sabi landscaping

Let those dandelions propagate in the wild. Wafting in the breeze, their pores will attract bees and other pollinators that will help spread the pollen throughout your garden and transform it into a colorful tapestry of flowers. Punctuate the grassy lawn with rocks and stones. As time goes by, they’ll get cloaked in mats of slimy green moss and weathered lichens, a refreshing tint of color to the overall aesthetic. Add water fountains, bird feeders, and delicate wind chimes. Pepper the garden with little ponds with lotuses or tiny patches laden with grainy sand, pebbles, or shells as accents to the overall mosaic.

The low-stress gardening aesthetic could also entail rustic elements bestrewn into your garden space. “This aesthetic embraces the beauty of imperfection: weathered wood, rusted metals, aged stones. Rather than striving for flawless finishes, homeowners are choosing materials and layouts that feel organic and alive,” Lenhart explained to Real Simple. Additionally, marrying the Wabi-Sabi style with cottage-style gardening can pave the way to authentic and creative gardening that celebrates nature’s unpredictability and appreciates constantly evolving beauty, because, ultimately, change is the only constant. And in this change lies the most profound beauty.