What makes a Japanese garden Japanese is more than a sprinkling of the trappings. True, the careful choice and use of garden components, together with an appreciation for the spirit of a Japanese garden and a sound garden plan, are necessary to create a successful Japanese garden. But so are some basics design principles employed for centuries by the Japanese, and sometimes used in other garden styles as well.
In Japanese garden design, simplification refers to how a few elements such as plants, stones, or water features are carefully placed to intimate the details of nature in a larger sense. The elements may suggest a woodland, a shore, or islands in an ocean. |
Simplification-The principle of simplification, also known as reductivism or abstraction, is the distillation of nature to its essence. In garden design, this implies reduction in complexity more than in size. The careful selection and arrangement of a few plants, a stream, and several stones might suggest the intricacies and conjure the spirit of a woodland setting. A few well chosen stones set just so in a bed of raked gravel might produce the impression of a panorama of islands in the ocean. The smallest, simplest courtyard might successfully give the feeling of an expansive garden.
The principle of simplification calls for active participation on the part of the viewer. Following this principle, a skilled garden maker can, with a few simple details, suggest a complex and perhaps expansive scene, and sensitive viewers can then contemplate the scene and fill in the missing elements.
Enclosure-Ever since the earliest Japanese gardens were enclosed to separate the sacred ground inside from the profane world outside, the principle of enclosure has been used to set apart the garden sanctuary from the larger world, and to unify the world within the garden. Without the enclosure or implied enclosure, it is very difficult or impossible for the garden or some aspect of it to suggest more than it literally is.
Water in theGarden-It is not surprising that in an island country with abundant rainfall,  water figures prominently in gardens. A simple stone water basin can capture the magic of water as surely as a waterfall with a stream and pond can, and much more simply. A dry-water feature makes the viewer feel the living presence of water that does not actually exist in the garden.
A waterfall is nearly always the focal point of its garden, and no wonder: It marks a dramatic shift in topography. Usually it feeds a widening stream or a pond that from downstream viewing points leads the eye to the waterfall itself, always in motion.
Soothing water sounds cancel out noises beyond the garden and enhance the illusion of remoteness. You can emulate the particular charm of the natural waterfall by varying the seasonal volume of water, thereby reinforcing the mood of the season.
The most imposing feature of a stroll or a hill and pond garden is usually the pond. Nestling low in the landscape, the pond anchors the garden and its surface mirrors the sky, catches the wind, and often provides a home for fish. The rest of the garden is designed around it. Choice placement of stones and construction of stream and pond transform a plain yard into a serene world. The openness of a well-designed pond strikes a balance with trees, stones, structures, and land forms. The concavity of the pond creates a balancing convexity: Soil from the excavation may become a mound in the garden.
Raked Gravel-The material used most frequently to suggest water is fine, raked sand of a special kind. In Japan, decomposed granite particles are used. The surfaces of these particles are angular rather than rounded, so the sand can be shaped into the sharp ridges needed to maintain precisely raked patterns. Earthy, subdued tones make the granite more attractive than white sand as a garden surface. A very fine gravel might be substituted.
Stones and Boulders-Stone is so important in every Japanese garden that it has been described as the skeleton, backbone, framework, and foundation of the garden. Above all, it is stone used as stone that has the greatest importance in the garden.
Even when used in groups, stones have individual characteristics, and the Japanese carefully select every stone for a garden. Graceful form, attractive color and texture, beauty of vein, and a patina of age are highly valued. Japanese history abounds with accounts of individual garden stones so beautiful that they became fittingly lavish gifts for rulers or booty for rapacious, powerful men of refined taste.
Paths-With the exception of courtyard gardens, Japanese gardens invite viewers to walk through them. Stepping-stones in the outer tea garden lead visitors away from everyday concerns into a realm of quietude; the stroll-garden path invites to set out on foot to savor the garden’s subtleties and explore its mysteries. In any walked in garden, a side path promises to reveal to the curious visitor a choice feature or other surprise.
Lanterns-Zen priests and tea masters popularized stone garden lanterns y incorporating them into tea gardens. Lanterns of stone are now the single most common artifact to be found in the gardens of Japan. Rather than light the garden at night, they are used to contrast pleasingly and subtly with natural features.
Even if not actually lit, lanterns are placed in the garden wherever light would be useful: along walkways, especially where turns or shifts in level occur, near boat docks, at gateways, near bridges or water spanning stepping stones, or near a water basin. They are also used to complete compositions of stones, or of stones and plants, to mark the edge of a pond, or to create reflections from an island in the pond.
Water Basins- Like lanterns, water basins are nearly always of stone. The most highly prized are ancient ones of a simple, rustic design. The water basin, or tsukubai, appeared in Japanese gardens as an adjunct to the tea ceremony, to be used by guests for washing their hands and mouths in a ritual of purification before they entered the teahouse. A typical tsukubai is low, requiring that the user stoop. A bamboo ladle often sits on the stone, and the reservoir in the top of the basin may be filled by hand or fed by a bamboo pope that drips water into it. Even if the basin never fulfills its original function in a garden, its appearance enhanced by the sound of dripping water and the rippling, reflective surface of the water, makes it a splendid accent.
Fish-Fish add sparkle and movement to a water garden like nothing else. Before you stock your pond, however there are a few things to consider. First check the water quality and treat for chlorine or chloramines.
Plants-Plants are nearly always a part of Japanese gardens, but their functions often differ dramatically from those of plants in typical Western gardens. In several respects, so do their placement, training, and maintenance.
My Pond Store, LLC is a Certified Aquascape Contractor, Certified Savio Waterfeature Installer, a member of the Water Garden Excellence Program, sponsored by Aquascape Designs, the largest water garden manufacturer in the US. The program is focused on teaching the staff customer service and product knowledge, assuring pond owners the “Life Style” they should expect from their balanced water garden. My Pond Store, LLC. is a complete water garden and pond supply store, and a certified professional pond installer. Professional pond care and maintenance programs are also available. We are located off US Hwy 158 West in beautiful Reidsville, North Carolina and also serves Greensboro, Winston Salem, Kernersville, Stokesdale, Oak Ridge, Stoneville, Eden, Brown Summit and the Piedmont Triad NC area. In addition we serve southern Virginia in the Martinsville, Ridgeway, Danville, and Chatam VA areas.
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