If you’re like me and can use a reminder to relax, consider creating a zen garden. By selecting plants that require little care, you’ll end up with a garden that will help you unwind without making you stress about killing your plants.

Succulents are some of the best plants for zen gardens since they thrive in most environments and require only a bit of care. They can fit both big and small spaces, and they come in all different shapes.

To help you get started with creating your own slice of relaxation and rejuvenation, I’ll cover why succulents are great for zen gardens as well as some types of succulents you should consider.

How Succulents Help You Relax

Whether we like it or not, most of us spend a lot of our time indoors or in front of a screen. Add in a pandemic and lots of us are spending less time in nature than ever before. This lack of access to the natural world can lead to nature deficit disorder — marked by a decreased ability to focus and regulate stress.

Research has shown that spending time outdoors, hanging with indoor plants, or even looking at a photo of a landscape can decrease our stress levels. The good news is that even if we can’t go outside, we can bring some nature inside! By adding a zen garden to your home, you’ll have a little piece of nature to help you relax.

Succulents help us decompress even more than some other plants due to their tranquil blue and green colors. While bright red and orange blooms are beautiful, they tend to spark feelings of energy rather than relaxation.

If you are looking for a mix of colors, you can always look into succulent flower arrangements. These come with pops of bright blooms along with cool succulents. What’s even better is that after your flowers have wilted you can keep the succulents around by rooting them and adding them to your garden.

Types of Succulents

All succulents have thick leaves or tissue where they store water. Some of these plants are cacti, but there are also other types of succulents. While succulents do form flowers, their showy leaves are reason enough to add them to your garden.

Check out the following six plants for some great choices for your zen garden.

Aloe perfoliata – Mitre Aloe

You might know aloe for its ability to soothe burns, but these plants are also gorgeous. Mitre aloe, also known as rubber aloe, is a creeping plant that forms many small rosettes of spike-tipped leaves.

Echeveria elegans – Mexican Snowball

Also known as Mexican rose, this succulent forms a beautiful light mint rosette. It’s perfect as a stand-alone plant in a piece of driftwood, or as a centerpiece of a larger garden.

Euphorbia cereiformis – Milk Barrel Cactus

This cactus grows up to resemble a column covered in spiked ribs. It often forms offsets which leads to columns of different heights. While you may think spikes will stress you out, these cacti are easy to care for and a pleasure to look at.

Haworthia fasciata – Zebra Plant

The zebra plant gets its name from the white stripes on its dark green leaves. The triangular leaves are arranged in a rosette that only gets four to six inches tall, so this plant is perfect for tiny spaces.

Opuntia microdasys albata – Bunny Ears

Although it may look soft, this cactus is actually covered with tiny spines. It doesn’t have a stem or trunk, but rather ovular segments stacked one on top of another. While this cactus will stay small if it’s in a tiny container, it can grow up to five feet if you give it enough space.

Sedum dasyphyllum – Corsican Stonecrop

Corsican Stonecrop is made up of lots of stems covered with small, light blue leaves. The stems form a groundcover or cascade over if you have the plants in a pot.

Add Some Zen to Your Home

It’s no question that we can all use some stress relief wherever we can find it. Fortunately, succulents make it easy to create your own zen garden. So plant some of your favorites then sit back and relax.

Bio:

Briana Yablonski is a plant enthusiast living in Tennessee. When she’s not growing vegetables and herbs in her market garden, she’s writing about plants as a freelance writer. She is a regular contributor to The Bouqs Co. blog.