Have you always dreamt of a Japanese style garden? Do you wish you could be taking a trip to a Tokyo temple right now, while Sugiyama's Dragon Quest plays in your airpods? We show you how to create the look of a Japanese garden in your own back yard.
There are two notable - and similar - styles of gardening which come to mind when thinking about Japan.
The first style of Japanese garden is the temple garden. Japanese temple gardens are known for the neatness, their precise lines of raked gravel, their carefully-positioned rocks, and their carefully-trimmed shrubberies. These gardens are all about attention to detail. There may be very few plants in them, to non-Japanese garden tastes - perhaps a small clump of ornamental grass, a pruned ancient pine, or a bonsai tree on a pedestal, taking pride of place.
With everything in the space squared away, and in its rightful place, the mind is free to meditate without distraction. There is often an emphasis on sound - clattering canes of bamboo, water rhythmically dripping into a bowl, or wind softly rustling through leaves. Moss is encouraged to grow. Colour is kept to a minimum, except for a glorious blaze of autumn shades from a single Japanese acer or golden ginkgo tree; or the delicate spring blossom of the Sakura cherry. Hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, has strong cultural significance for many Japanese people.
The second style of Japanese garden is more naturalistic and lush, but with that fastidious neatness in place. There is usually a body of still water, to reflect the sky, and double the view of the garden. Weeping trees dip their branches into the water, just as they do in the old willow pattern china. Grasses arch over the river banks. Groundcover junipers form dense green carpets.An arched bridge, painted red, gives the full authentically-Japanese look.
There's shady walkways and restful waterways, gentle cascades and rustling grasses - enjoyment for the ears as well as the eyes. Rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, and other flowering evergreens from this part of the world are clipped to rounded silhouettes, mimicking the shaping effect of wind on plants. Most of these flowering plants prefer a humus-rich, moist, acid soil, and a little dappled shade to grow healthy and bloom well. If you don't have this soil type in your garden, grow them in a big glazed pot filled with ericaceous compost.Amid the restful green, a pop of bright year-round colour from a red acer or gold-leaved conifer.
Japanese Style Gardens - sound of silence
There are two notable - and similar - styles of gardening which come to mind when thinking about Japan.
The first style of Japanese garden is the temple garden. Japanese temple gardens are known for the neatness, their precise lines of raked gravel, their carefully-positioned rocks, and their carefully-trimmed shrubberies. These gardens are all about attention to detail. There may be very few plants in them, to non-Japanese garden tastes - perhaps a small clump of ornamental grass, a pruned ancient pine, or a bonsai tree on a pedestal, taking pride of place.
With everything in the space squared away, and in its rightful place, the mind is free to meditate without distraction. There is often an emphasis on sound - clattering canes of bamboo, water rhythmically dripping into a bowl, or wind softly rustling through leaves. Moss is encouraged to grow. Colour is kept to a minimum, except for a glorious blaze of autumn shades from a single Japanese acer or golden ginkgo tree; or the delicate spring blossom of the Sakura cherry. Hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, has strong cultural significance for many Japanese people.
Japanese Style Gardens - calm reflection
The second style of Japanese garden is more naturalistic and lush, but with that fastidious neatness in place. There is usually a body of still water, to reflect the sky, and double the view of the garden. Weeping trees dip their branches into the water, just as they do in the old willow pattern china. Grasses arch over the river banks. Groundcover junipers form dense green carpets.An arched bridge, painted red, gives the full authentically-Japanese look.
There's shady walkways and restful waterways, gentle cascades and rustling grasses - enjoyment for the ears as well as the eyes. Rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, and other flowering evergreens from this part of the world are clipped to rounded silhouettes, mimicking the shaping effect of wind on plants. Most of these flowering plants prefer a humus-rich, moist, acid soil, and a little dappled shade to grow healthy and bloom well. If you don't have this soil type in your garden, grow them in a big glazed pot filled with ericaceous compost.Amid the restful green, a pop of bright year-round colour from a red acer or gold-leaved conifer.
