Where can I find a zen sand garden in store?

They carry them at Target.

I’ve also seen them in Target. If you live near St. Louis which is a bigger city you should also be able to find a local Asian Foods Store which often has a section for decorations as well.

i bought one for myself last year at some chinese store and forgot i had it til i found it a week ago. i’m never going to use it. i wish i could give it to you.

I made one before I knew they were available. My Mother used to putter around with Bonsai so all the materials were out in the shed. She helped me with it. Don’t know where it is now. That was a long time ago.

What you basically want is a somewhat glorified sandbox. With things like this I think in terms of DIY. A shallow container made of some nice-looking wood. Filled with coarse sand or fine gravel, some “interesting” rocks, maybe some simple potted plants around the perimeter. You can build the special rakes the Zen monks use from 2×2 and ½” dowel stock. Building it is most of the fun.

@stranger_in_a_strange_land That’s what I was thinking of doing. Wonder how hard it is to make the rake though.

@erichw1504 I was thinking of drilling spaced holes in the 2×2 stock and inserting the dowels. A broom handle could be attached in an angled hole drilled on the opposite side. This is more of a project than the sand garden itself, but easily within the capabilities of a simple drill press,

@stranger_in_a_strange_land I don’t have a drill press, would a hand-held drill do the trick?

@erichw1504 You could drill the holes for the “teeth” using a spade bit and a piece of masking tape as a depth marker (you want all the teeth to be of even depth). The angled hole for the handle could be a problem without a drill press if you’re looking for an exact angle; you could set up some kind of a jig to do it with a combination bit. If you want the handle to screw in like a broom’s handle, you will have to get a wood-threading tap from a woodworking supply store. The ends of the teeth should be rounded; this could be done using a belt sander or a rounding die (works like a pencil sharpener).

@stranger_in_a_strange_land That’s great, thanks for all the help!

@erichw1504 Anytime. Let me know if you need more advice on the design and tooling.