japanese design

Japanese Gardens

in Japanese Decorating

Many landscapers today, whether professional or home do-it-yourselfers are turning to Japanese designs for landscaping a garden. The peace and tranquility of a Japanese garden is attracting many people to this type of landscaping design. One of the biggest attractions of a Japanese garden is the ease of taking care of it. If a Japanese garden is well designed in the first place, it will not be expensive to install, and will be relatively carefree. Many people think a Japanese garden will be expensive because it has to have exotic plants and flowers in it. This couldn’t be the furthest from the truth, since a Japanese garden seeks to have the simplest materials to create that peaceful look. If you understand the underlying principles of Japanese gardens, you can create one that will not be expensive and will be easy to care for.

One of the most important underlying principles of Japanese gardens is to follow the lines and form of nature. There are not square ponds in nature, so a Japanese garden would have to have a round pond. Natural shapes that abound in nature are what will be found in a Japanese garden. There is no fear of having large empty spaces in a Japanese garden; this is done on purpose so that the empty spaces complement and outline the other elements in the garden. Managing size in a Japanese garden is a third element to be addressed. Large items in small places will overwhelm the tranquility of the garden. Japanese gardens frequently use enclosures in interesting ways. Fences and gates serve the purpose of secluding the garden, but they may also point the visitor to another area, even if it is only an illusion. The symbolism of seclusion in the garden is important and so walkways are always wandering off into small areas, even in expansive gardens. The growing fascination with Oriental culture has led many garden aficionados to consider creating a Japanese garden. Both formal Western and Japanese gardens will use water features, like a pond. Many Japanese ponds will have small islands in the center, or a miniature waterfall. Many times the ponds are edged with rough rocks or pebbles, rather than polished stone or tile.

Western gardens also tend to be very structured and symmetrical. The Japanese interpret this as a manipulation of Nature. For them, pure symmetry is too logical—a garden should be spiritual, which means openness to Life and its uniqueness. That is why Japanese gardens tend to look a little “wild”. Western gardens also tend to use sculptures (from Greek goddess to the ever-famous gnomes). The garden features are then organized in such a way to direct the eye to that sculpture. One example is hedge mazes or carefully landscaped bushes encircling a stone statue. For Japanese, this is another sign that human beings are restructuring reality rather than embracing its quirks. There may be water basins, stone lanterns, stone towers and wells, but these are never focal points. The colors are kept natural and subtle: grays, browns, and other neutrals. Marble and other “finished” textures, or brightly colored furniture, are frowned upon. If you need to incorporate lights or sprinkler systems for practical purposes, keep them unobtrusive.