Use Natural, Weathered Materials

Select landscaping materials with rough edges and natural coloring over pristine or manufactured finishes. Lenhart suggests creating paths made of flagstone or pavers with irregular patterns to add to the weathered, natural look that’s desirable in a Wabi-Sabi garden. Weathered wood fences or arbors are very Wabi-Sabi, too, he explains.

“Natural materials bring this richness of texture and imperfection. These natural, biophilic forms are good for those hoping Wabi-Sabi will give them a dose of wellness from their garden and an antidote to anxiety,” Lenhart says.

Embrace Asymmetry and Biomorphic Shapes

“Nature abhors a straight line. Curves are good. Shaggy edges where plants overlap the boundaries of their planting areas are good," Lenhart says. A Wabi-Sabi garden reflects nature’s organic flow by using asymmetry and natural shapes. A meandering path of irregularly shaped flagstone is more Wabi-Sabi than a straight concrete walkway.

Let plants grow in naturalistic drifts instead of planting them in rigid, geometric rows. Arrange landscape boulders, plants, or containers in odd-numbered groups of three or five, because this feels more natural to the eye than symmetrical arrangements.

Celebrate the Whole Lifecycle of Plants

Allow for natural processes. Resist the urge to clean up. Don’t pick up every fallen leaf or deadhead every flower, because these contribute to the sense of impermanence and change that’s central to Wabi-Sabi. Those seed heads also provide crucial food for birds and make a striking silhouette against a fall or winter sky. Those dead plumes of ornamental grass are a beautiful phase in a garden’s life cycle.

“You don’t want plants that look uniform year-round,” Lenhart says. “Plants that look different throughout the year highlight the sense of evolution and transience that is core to the Wabi-Sabi concept.”

Incorporate Native Plants

Think outside the boxwood. Native plants support local ecosystems and align with the core Wabi-Sabi principle of celebrating nature. “Using native plants is an easy way to support biodiversity amid this context of a global biodiversity crisis,” Lenhart says. “The best thing you can do is to integrate the plants that grow naturally in your yard or garden,” he recommends.

Lenhart advises against using plants with little habitat value—plants that do not offer food or shelter to wildlife. By choosing natives like serviceberry, coneflower, goldenrod, yarrow, and oak trees, you’re building an ecosystem, not just a pretty garden.

According to Lenart, it’s OK to use some non-native plants in a Wabi-Sabi garden. “Native plants aren’t always a great choice for residential use because they are not always available in a nursery and they can get really leggy or pretty funky for a lot of the year,” he notes. Wabi-Sabi seeks balance, so you can have a “responsible blend of plants,” according to Lenhart.

Pick Simplicity Instead of Clutter

Wabi-Sabi is about minimalism. Resist the urge to put old iron garden tools or wooden furniture in the garden and allow them to rust or weather. “That’s a slippery slope," Lenhart cautions, "because when you introduce objects to a landscape design, it's very easy for those objects to look like objects that have been introduced, rather than an integrated part of the design.” You want natural imperfection, not staged imperfection.

Go Easy on the Color

Wabi-Sabi is about serenity and subtlety, not screaming for attention. Opt for a restrained color scheme drawn from nature—soft, complex colors of earth, stone, and plants. “It’s less about what colors you use and more about the quantity of color. The idea is to create shifting focal points that vary from season to season,” Lenhart explains.

The focus is less on having lots of bright, bold colors and more on natural transitions and seasonal variation. “Instead of filling the garden with constant, vibrant color, choose plants that have seasonal blooms or seasonal color, something that’s going to mark the passage of time,” Lenhart says. This approach creates a sense of calm and allows you to appreciate the beauty of impermanence and natural change, which are central to the Wabi-Sabi philosophy.

Let Nature Speak

A Wabi-Sabi garden is a partnership between you and nature. It’s a balance of thoughtful design and gentle tending, but it leaves room for happy accidents and natural quirks. Let the moss and lichens grow on walkways, containers, and on trees. Leave those volunteer ferns that pop up in the cracks between pavers. Let that passionflower vine climb messily over a fence. Resist the urge to cut back shrubs for the sake of tidiness. “You want to guide a garden’s natural tendencies, not dominate it,” Lenhart says.

Designing a Wabi-Sabi garden is about freeing yourself from the exhausting pursuit of perfection. “Wabi-Sabi is about the beauty that you find in loneliness and impermanence and knowing that things are going to go away or things aren't perfect,” Lenhart says. In other words, let it be. Time passes, plants go to seed or even die. And that’s a good thing, according to Wabi-Sabi.