gilj
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2010 12:41 pm
Location: summit nj

japanese garden design

I'm new to the forum. Have visited Japan twice to visit gardens. I am fascinated with their rock gardens, I have a 20x25 foot partially enclosed corner where I want to build my own. In my Zen-like mind, I have thought of doing it for 10 years, but only now have acted.
I have no skills in gardening, manual labor or creativity . I think that my first steps would be to have someone look at the space, make suggestions, do a design plan, and hold my hand while I try to do the work.. I could not enjoy the results, if I simply paid someone to do it all.
Any suggestions from the Forum might help to move me from my Zen
trance
Best regards
Gil Jackson

yama
Senior Member
Posts: 124
Joined: Wed Jun 30, 2010 3:10 am
Location: Salem, MA

Hi
My name is yama, short of Yamakami,my last name. I have been in landsape trade for almost 40 years.
When I meet prospect customer, I will ask to a customer to write her/his wishs from future garden. make list everything you can think of. Color you like. how important the colore you like. how to use garden space.Do you enetertains friends? or the space is jut for you. How much you can spend/ budget is most important part of Garden constraction.

When you like to have high quality garden which last long time, functioanl, every posibility of enviroment have to concider even small space, drainade, any water enter to garden/form down sput, roof, gardeing which bring surface water from neighbor(s). orientation of building/garden, neighbor's building /landscaping etc.
In Japanese garden design, there are many relationship to BUddhism. If you are christian and have open mineded but use name of stone, stone ornaments bothers you, then you should make note of it.
If you have a dog or cat, your life style... business trip often etc.

Make good Japanese garden, it take many detail work more than you think.
half to an hour aftre rain, water on ground have to drain, useing some sort of drain system.

If some one want to you comit a job after onece or twice contact, avoid the that contractor or desginer. contractor's or designer's knowlege,skill, ability should be respected, but you are the one to see garden every single day and live with it. in that condition, contractor or designer should spend time with you before desinging your garden.
Know your property line and make it sure you have "plot" which give information of your property sixe and orientation of North/South.

Goodway to get respond/sugestion from others is your respond to the post(s). I am sure that many kind peoples respond to your question.
Start with George 8)
yama

gilj
Newly Registered
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2010 12:41 pm
Location: summit nj

Yama, Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Even though you only mentioned some of the things I need to consider, it made me realize how little I know and that I have to proceed carefully, and slowly.
Gil

The Helpful Gardener
Mod
Posts: 7491
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
Location: Colchester, CT

Yama-san is very skilled at his trade and knows of what he speaks.

The fact that you are slowing down instead of speeding up shows what a good teacher he is as well...

HG

Piet Patings
Cool Member
Posts: 91
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 10:00 am

gilj wrote:...Have visited Japan twice to visit gardens. I am fascinated with their rock gardens
Well Gil I recognize this. Having been there is a great advantage.

I built my first Japanese style garden based on the at the time available books (not all that much) and improved it after a visit to Japan.
When we moved home, we started from scratch and from paper where our most important inspiration where existing Japanese gardens.
Take as a model the creations left to us by the famous men of old and, considering the suggestions of the owner of the house (where the garden is to be made), one must create, exercising one's own aesthetic senses (from Sakuteiki
But then you need to take into account many considerations and be pragmatic in being a purist v/s feasibility and affordability.

I wish you lots of vision and inspiration.

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Look around... there's tons of info available on-line about Japanese garden design with pictures for inspiration, etc. Then start making designs on paper... you can play with design that way for a long time without wasting $$ and effort.

Then get started! Start with hardscape (paths, walls, rock etc). Asian gardens always incorporate water, so think about a water feature... bamboo fountain, koi pond or whatever. Remember you want a sense of mystery, not to be able to see everything at once, but to come on little framed views. Paths should wind, areas should be screened. And keep it very simple. Less is more, lots of space. Lots of rock and only a few carefully selected plants. Make a focal point, whether it is the water space, a seating area, a large boulder or statue...

Think about how you want to use it.... just as a viewing garden, or to sit in or to have table and be able to eat there....

I would start with this and worry about the technical aspects of drainage etc after you have an idea of what you want to do. It will always be a work in progress, so can always be changed. I'm on the other side from the guys... you could think about it forever and get all bogged down in the details and never have a garden or you can have a real though imperfect garden which you can always work on improving.... I'm on the side of real!

User avatar
koiboy01
Senior Member
Posts: 171
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2006 2:49 pm
Location: U K

Hi,
As rainbow gardener says get on with it and make a start because as you progress you will continue to change plants and elements all the time, I was doing my garden for over thirty years and was still changing things around but a good tip is if you have a plant and don't know where you should put it, put it in a large pot and then you can move it around until you find that perfect space.
koiboy01



Return to “Japanese Garden Forum”