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Tim Daly
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The Japanese have a culture that is ancient. Gardening is very important to the Japanese people. Japanese consider gardening as a spiritual experience. Garden elements such as bridges, water, plants, stones, and waterfalls are important parts of eastern religious philosophies such as Buddhism. It offers a place to meditate and to get in touch with nature.
Traditional Japanese gardens are man-made representations of the natural world. For example, you would never find a square pond in the wild, so do not put one in your garden. Waterfalls look great, but not a fountain. Gardeners in Japan recreate natural settings with incorporating subtle man-made art. The garden art is made from natural materials and is used to bridge the natural and the man-made.
Another key point to remember is balance. The goal is to create a “large” landscape even in the smallest of spaces. A six-ton boulder looks right at home in the six-acre stroll garden, it does not belong in a ten by ten courtyard. It would be equivalent of having a horse in a closet. Choose the components carefully.
There are five different styles of Japanese gardens; the strolling garden, the tea garden, the natural garden, the sand and stone garden and the flat garden. The strolling garden has paths and is designed for long views. The sand and stone garden is found in monasteries and incorporates a bed of sand or gravel that is raked smooth and larger stones. The Tea garden is designed for taking tea with an outer garden, and inner garden, and a teahouse. The flat garden incorporates elements of both the natural garden and the sand and stone garden.
The Japanese consider their gardens a spiritual retreat, emphasizing form (placement of plants/rock, special pruning), texture (interesting bark), and the placement of objects, rather than color and flowers. Japanese gardens utilize moss, groundcovers and rocks heavily, with architectural embellishments (lanterns, pagoda, Buddha, purification basin, fencing) adding structure and texture. Trees and shrubs are pruned in such a way (bonsai) as to lend a weathered/aged look, giving the plants a sense of wisdom.
Objects and plants are not the only important elements of a Japanese Garden. Both positive and negative spaces are important, as is spirituality. It was believed that all universal things oscillate between Yin & Yang. Landscape design sought to balance these opposites to create harmony.
Timothy Daly is an Agricultural and Natural Resource Agent with Gwinnett County Extension, and can be contacted at 678-377-4010 or at timothy.daly@gwinnettcounty.com
