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Decorating with rocks, the beauty of rustic decor
Rocks are dirty, crude, hard, and just plain nasty. But there is another side to rocks. They are also durable, beautiful, and come in a huge variety. When a piece of stone is cut from a mountain, it is cut into a giant slab. This slab looks like...
Gardening For Birds
Creating the perfect garden for birds begins by understanding the needs of birds. Birds, as with other wildlife, require certain elements in the garden to survive. These elements include: Food Water Shelter Planting for birds can add beauty as...
How to choose a riding lawn mower for your property
Most riding lawn mowers are machines fun ride and extremely cool to look at. However, they are just a dream for many gardeners who can not afford one of these powerful gardening equipment. A riding mower can be a practical time saving machine for...
Jump Start Your Garden with Seedlings & Cuttings
The arrival of March typically has gardeners itching to get outside and start digging, but with many final frost dates well into May it's just too early to do any real planting outside--as so many of us have learned the hard way. To satisfy the...
Turn Your Patio Into A Voluminous Vegetable Garden
My first apartment was a second-story condo in an urban complex, far displaced from the groomed suburban landscapes and sprawling gardens I had grown up with. My only connection to the outdoors was a small porch, surrounded by brown siding and a...
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Japanese Garden Styles - Which One Is The Best For You?
Japanese gardens have become popular choices when choosing to
landscape a yard. The entire garden concept is designed to
create an experience, invoke feelings and provide a haven where
one can be relaxed, calm and peruse inner-thoughts. Therefore,
it is important that the rocks and plants meld together within
the landscape, and that the relationship and placement between
rocks, plants and water is well thought out within the design.
There are several different types of Japanese garden styles that
you can choose from to initiate ideas and begin the process of
planning out your own unique garden. Keep in mind that you are
not limited to just one style. Many Japanese gardens are
combinations of two or more of the following types melded
together, should you have enough room on your site to do so.
Here is a brief description of each so that you can better plan
your own garden layout.
Pond and Island Style
With this type of design your goal is to create a central pond
which is either large enough to go boating upon and/or one in
which you can stroll around the edge of the pond. The 'Pond and
Island' Japanese garden is designed so that all plants, rocks
and other features on the shore are seen from the pond area. The
background plantings and elements are placed so that they blend
into the natural landscape beyond the garden. Small islands are
created within the pond, where a bush or tree is planted
surrounded by rocks on the 'island shore', as visual focal
points. Small bridges can also be built to span the water from a
point on the shoreline to one or more of the 'islands' and then
back to shore again on a different side of the pond. This allows
the stroller to view the surrounding area from the pond itself
(a good tactic if you don't have enough room to install a
boating pond).
Dry Landscape Zen Garden
The Zen garden was primarily used by Buddhist monks within their
temples. The landscaping is comprised of a combination of
boulders, large and small rocks, gravel or sand, and on
occasion, moss or very sparsely planted trees or shrubs (usually
only one or two plants are seen). The rocks symbolize islands
and consist of unique shapes and sizes, which are very carefully
positioned. The gravel or sand symbolizes water and is raked
into various patterns. The idea behind this garden is to help
the viewer clear their mind and aid in contemplation and
meditation without distractions. The Zen garden is not entered
(other than to rake the gravel), but is viewed from a single
focal point, such as from a raised deck, balcony or through the
windows of a building.
Japanese Tea Garden
The tea garden is actually more of a ceremonial type garden in
order to perform a Tea Ceremony. Consisting of two gardens in
one (an outer garden and an inner garden), it is a good choice
for average size yards or incorporated within a larger Japanese
garden style. It is also one of the more popular gardens to
create. The outer garden is more informal in plantings and
consists of an entry gate to the garden and
a stone path leading
toward the inner garden. Visitors pass through a second gate
where a water basin is located and is used as part of the
ceremony. Another stone path flows through the inner garden,
whose plants are more formally placed and not flowered, so as
not to provide any distractions along the journey. The inner
path leads to a small building where the actual tea ceremony is
performed. This entire garden concept requires much more
information that can be relayed in a short paragraph. If you
wish to learn more about building your own Japanese Tea Garden,
please see the link at the end of this article.
Stroll Gardens
Japanese stroll gardens are designed to be viewed as a
walk-around garden. Paths lead the visitor through the area with
each twist and turn revealing a new sight. Most of these gardens
focus on a theme of some landscape found in nature and then are
recreated in miniature within the garden itself. To properly
build such a garden design you would need at least an acre or
more of land to work with so you can incorporate hidden vistas
and scenes to delight the stroller when they make a new turn in
the path, as well as hide the previous scene from view. Often
times, a tea garden and or a pond are also integrated within the
stroll garden.
Courtyard Garden
This is a perfect solution for a small yard, especially one that
is enclosed with a stone or brick wall or wooden fence and is
very limited in space. The design of the Japanese courtyard
garden is kept simple and is usually built to be observed from
inside the house, although you could build it so it is useable
outside as well if it is carefully planned out. Consisting of a
few plants, perhaps a tree, small water feature, often times a
dry stream, or other simple elements, this Japanese garden style
allows nature and light to flow into your home via large windows
and patio doors.
Research the Best Design for Your Garden
The above is a sampling of the basic Japanese garden styles to
give you some ideas on what you may wish to create for your own
yard. As noted, you can choose one or a combination of styles to
suit your purpose. What is most important though, is to
determine what you wish to achieve with your garden. Japanese
gardens are intended to create an experience for the visitor. It
is suggested that you read garden books, view pictures of the
gardens found in Japan, and research the concepts behind the
intent of these gardens before you begin your own design. Then
you will have the tools to construct a beautiful, serene and
amazing landscape that will be enjoyed for years to come.
About the author:
(c)2005, Rose Smith owns Gardens From Japan where you can
discover how to design and build your own beautiful and peaceful
Japanese garden. visit us today at: http://www.gardensfromjapan.com for more
information on Japanese garden styles,
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