Zen in the Garden

Spring, summer, autumn, and winter- wherever you are, the seasons come and go, bringing changes both welcome and unexpected.

Japanese by birth, but transplanted to Europe in adulthood, Miki Sakamoto has spent a lifetime tending her garden and reflecting on its mysteries. Why do primulas bloom in snow? Do the trees really 'talk' to one another? What are the blackbirds saying today? And is there a mindful way to deal with an aphid infestation?

From rising early to walk barefoot on the grass each morning, to afternoons and evenings spent sipping tea in her gazebo or watching fireflies as she recalls her childhood in Japan, in Zen in the Garden Sakamoto shares observations from a life spent in contemplation - and cultivation - of nature. She shows us that you can create Zen in your life, wherever you live and whatever form your outdoor space takes.


'A delightful book, open at any page and find yourself transported into the garden and surrounded by butterflies, blackbirds, roses, and buddleja. Aaaand, breathe.'
-Marc Hamer, author of How to Catch a Mole

About the Authors

Miki Sakamoto was born in 1950 in Kagoshima, Japan. She studied classical Japanese and Chinese literature in Tokyo and cultural anthropology (MA) in Munich, where she has lived since 1974. When living in Japan, she wrote for several newspapers. Alongside Japanese haikus and German poetry, she has authored works about Munich (M nchener Freiheit - Munich Freedom) and her grandmother (Die Kirschbl tenreise - The Cherry Blossom Journey). Most recently she has written the poetic companion books Eintauchen in den Wald (Immersing Yourself in the Forest) (Hanserblau, 2019) and Zen und das Gluck, im Garten zu arbeiten (Zen and the Bliss of Gardening) (Aufbau, 2021). Last year Lichtwechsel (Changes in the Light), a volume of her poetry and nature writing, was published in German and Japanese (Weissbooks, 2021). She lives near Munich with her husband, the biologist and bestselling author Josef H. Reichholf.

Catherine Venner is a translator from German. She gained a BA. from the University of Durham and a Master's from Europa Universitat Viadrina. Her translations have been published in World Literature Today, No Man's Land, and the Brixton Review of Books. She lives in North East England and enjoys gardening.