What is this?

[mimi100]

Hi Everyone.. I am a newbie and am so excited about beginning my beautiful garden but I am not to sure where to start

I've recently purchased a townhome and there is no grass in the back. It looks like it was intended to be a Japanese Style Garden. Here is a picture of what the element looks like in the back. For the most part this is the entire backyard with a small pond and some stones laid down as the side walk throughout the yard. I have been told by someone that I cannot plant directly into this and will need to plant the container in the ground in order for trees/shrubs and flowers to grow. Is this true? Any help will be great.

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/IMG00141.jpg[/img]

[Piet Patings]

Hello and welcome, an interesting photo.
Do you mean this is how the whole garden looks ?
How large is it and how is it situated (NESW) ?

It looks like it was intended to be a Japanese Style Garden

For gravel/sand in a karesansui garden it could do but it is very (too ?) dark.

I have been told by someone that I cannot plant directly into this

Well putting plants in containers is what you do for other reasons. Like putting bamboo in a container so as to be able to control it from spreading. Or Like bonsai, if you want to keep it small.
In a garden you normally plant trees in good soil. Meaning where you are going to plant you need the right soil for that plant on that spot.

You best first draw a plan on what yo would like and then see if and how it will fit your situation.
We are here to help !

[mimi100]

THanks Piet Patings! I am working on drawing out my plan for the backyard now. I do not have much space to work with unfortunately. Here are some additional pictures excuse the mess, I am working on the pond at the moment:

This is the pond, in the top left corner of it there are some containers that were planted by the previous owners around the pond
[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/IMG00144.jpg[/img]


[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/IMG00147.jpg[/img]

Here is the area I am most interested in gardening once I pull up the weeds
[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/IMG00146-1.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/IMG00146.jpg[/img]

[Piet Patings]

Okay mimi,
Well this shows that there may be good reasons to use the "plant in container approach".
You can't afford them to grow too big and your soil is poor. Replacing it will be hard to do.
And last but not least planting it close to your pond could later damage the plastic pond-cloth.

I would then advice to use large containers, that is over-sized for the plant, so it can still perform well on a natural way and it won't die during your first vacation absence. A few nice smaller and larger trees, evergreen and deciduous, in the backdrop and on the left would make your pond to be come out very nicely).
Enjoy,

P.s. You may want to drill a hole under the container and fill it with sand/gravel to ensure sufficient drainage (depending on how dense the soil is at that depth).

[mimi100]

Okay mimi,
Well this shows that there may be good reasons to use the "plant in container approach".
You can't afford them to grow too big and your soil is poor. Replacing it will be hard to do.
And last but not least planting it close to your pond could later damage the plastic pond-cloth.

I would then advice to use large containers, that is over-sized for the plant, so it can still perform well on a natural way and it won't die during your first vacation absence. A few nice smaller and larger trees, evergreen and deciduous, in the backdrop and on the left would make your pond to be come out very nicely).
Enjoy,
P.s. You may want to drill a hole under the container and fill it with sand/gravel to ensure sufficient drainage (depending on how dense the soil is at that depth).

Thank you so much. Thank makes a lot of sense. I think I will go back to the drawing board and look into what you have suggested for these conditions. Is it ok if I come back with my list of things I would like to plant to get your opinion on whether they will do well in this environment?

[Piet Patings]

No problem. I am sure there will be others to jump in..... perhaps with more plant experience in the Atlanta area.......

[mimi100]

Hope you all had a good weekend. So this is what I am thinking:

1) I will have a plant box to grow my herbs: Cilantro, Mint, Thai Basil, Rosemary, and Ginger. That will go along side the fence on the same side as the pond.

2) These are the things I would love to plant in the top right corner and surrounding area that I think I can do most of my planting. This is quite the wish list

- I absolutely have to find a way to plant Purple and White Leafed Fantain Grass.

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/PurplefantainGrass.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/WhiteFantainGrass.jpg[/img]

- Japanese Maple

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/JapaneseMaple.jpg[/img]
- Butterfly Bush
[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/ButterflyBush.jpg[/img]

- Japanese Barberry Bush

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/barberry.jpg[/img]
-Gold Coast Juniper
[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/gold_coast.jpg[/img]

- Zhuzhou fuchsia
[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/Zhuzhou.jpg[/img]

- Dusty Miller

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/big_DustyMiller.jpg[/img]

-Forsythia Spring

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/forsythia.jpg[/img]
- Celosia closest to the stone sidewalk

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/celosia.jpg[/img]

- Sargeant crabapple

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/Sargent_Crabapple.jpg[/img]

- crape myrtle

[img]https://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/alakene/crapemyrtle.jpg[/img]

[The Helpful Gardener]

That's a lot of plants Mimi; are we looking at the same yard?

Lets look at the two grasses. The Pennisetum 'Rubrum' is two feet across and three feet tall, minimally. The Pennisetum below it looks like [url=https://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/PEHAS.html]'Hameln'[/url], usually lists as three by three, but I've seen it get bigger. Picture one of each in your yard area. You have just used a lot of your avaiable space and I'm one line itemof perennials into a list with multiple trees and shrubs. Something has to give...

Japanese gardens are about refining; paring down to the minumum plants and features to tell your story. A small spoace like yours will look more Asian and will axctually look bigger the MORE we leave empty space. I think of the Japanese garden type we find in the inner courtyards of merchant class homes, called [url=https://www.panoramio.com/photo/6307647]tsubo-niwa[/url]. They generally have few features, one or three good stones, a nice ornament, a few well chosen plants, or (befitting your stone dust base) [url=https://www.phototravels.net/kyoto/garden-v/kyoto-garden-v-089.html]karesansui style tsubo-niwas[/url]. Not much to get you from where you are to here, is it?

Following the path of least resistance can be a very Zen thought. They say that the mountain thought the water weak for flowing around him, until the water turned him into sand...

HG