Zen Garden – For the love of gardens
ZenGarden.club is an ever-growing collection of poetry, haiku, photography, fiction, and other art about gardens and gardeners. We also present famous gardens, both ancient and modern, alongside visits to the wonderful gardens of our members and contributors. Like a good garden, our features change with the seasons, and offer something for everyone to enjoy.
Our writing contests have become popular with writers from all over the world. These contests are open to all ages and foster a deep appreciation of the natural world, while allowing writers to make their work known to a wide audience. Our prestigious judges select the Grand Prize winners, and give feedback; there is also a public voting segment which introduces thousands of readers to our stories, and allows a second path to winning!
Explore all our pages, and enjoy!
Our flash fiction contests have become a magnet for creative, talented writers from around the world! Each invites you to write a very short story – 350 words or less – inspired by a flower or garden topic:
- Fleur (2020) Flower haiku/picture prompt, winners selected by judge and by public voting
- Photo Flora (2019) Picture prompt, winners selected by public voting
- Nutshell Narrative (2019) Flower haiku/picture prompts, winners selected by judge
Our current Trending pages have been carefully selected by our ZenGarden team, who each listed their favorites. They all reported that it was hard to narrow the list down to just ten! The Trending list will change periodically, to include new entries and new favorites.
Any page on the current trending list is open to the General Public and to our Free Members. Subscribers can visit other pages by using our Search or by selecting from the main menu. We invite you to explore everything on this site.
Each picture below is a portal to a new page of garden treasures. Click on any picture to go deeper!
Click on the title or either picture to enter the Poetry Portal.
We love discovering and sharing poems about gardens and gardeners! We have many old favorites you’re sure to recognize, including A. E. Housman’s “Loveliest of trees, the cherry now” and “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams. We also offer exciting new poems by contemporary gardener/poets. Share gardening wisdom and high art in “Pulling Onions”, or listen in on a “Conversation with Tarahumara Sunflower Seed Packet”. You’re sure to find something to inspire, delight and bring pleasure. New poetry is always being added, so tune in frequently!
Haiku is a perfect medium for celebrating gardens and going deeper into the lessons we learn as gardeners. Gardens change with the seasons, as do we humans. To enjoy a garden is to pay attention to brief moments of magnificence, while also learning patience and wisdom. All these characteristics of gardens and those who grow them and love them provide wonderful material for haiku. From the old masters to the three lines you wrote in your garden yesterday, we enjoy sharing the ever growing collection of haiku in our Zen Garden.
Click on the title or either picture to enter the Photography Portal.
Gardens and cameras are perfect partners. The wonder of a garden increases with time, as we view magnificent landscapes, closeups and special effects in stunning pictures created by the miracles of today’s photographers.
Enter this portal if you want to be amazed and inspired. Our photographers range from gardeners snapping photos in their backyard to professionals whose specialty is flower photography.
Enjoy!
Click on the title or either picture to enter the Art Portal.
