5 elements of a Japanese garden
Water
This has movement and a reflective quality. It can make small gardens appear larger.
Plants
Use evergreen trees such as pine, maples for seasonal colour, bamboo as a plant or part of a structure such as a fence, ornamental grasses, flowering plants – rhododendron, iris, peony – and moss.
Stones
Boulders placed in isolation can represent plants or animals, rocks clumped together can represent a waterfall, and small stones or pebbles massed together can represent water.
Lanterns
These represent love, light and protection from evil.
Bridges
This is a reflection of art and creativity.
If your lawn is drying up, replace it with white gravel or sand. In Zen gardens, they represent water.
Maples, a stone lantern, a water feature and boulders are essential in a Japanese-style garden. If you want a bamboo deer scarer (it makes a clunking noise), buy one online.
When you go through a Shinto torii (gate) you are moving from the mundane to the spiritual – which is what gardening is all about!
If you have room for a pond, put in a moon bridge that is reflected in the water, thus making a full circle.
Conifers are elegantly statuesque, their forms come naturally and most tolerate long periods of dry weather.
For more gardening ideas, pick up a copy of the latest issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine in selected newsagents and supermarkets or buy online today!
