Thinking of creating a Japanese
Garden? The combination of plants, water and decorative pebbles laid with
simple clean lines help create a tranquil retreat.
Creating a garden which is unique and represents you needn’t be
difficult. Often, coming up with the idea and the design is the hardest part.
Especially with an abundance of garden programmes on TV, internet designs and
shops around the world selling products such as decorative pebbles, rare plants
and unusual statutes, it’s no wonder some gardens over the years end up looking
confused.
There’s the ‘country’ style which is
based around beautiful yet easy care plants that provide flowers all summer
long. Or there’s the ‘cottage’ style where the garden doesn’t look designed.
Rather, they are unrestrained and gardens are left to appear almost informal
with plants flowing over on to path ways.
Many people these days are opting for a Japanese Peace Garden due to its
striking appearance yet ease of management once created. A beautiful example of a Japanese Peace Garden can be found at St John's College in York.
Providing a fairly modern feel, Japanese
Peace Gardens are a design statement, a stylised landscape and can look great
behind any style of house. You could opt to alter the entire garden, or,
perhaps more commonly seen, a corner separated from the main garden by bamboo
or a wall. Japanese Gardens tend to be based around the use of differences in
colour and texture, whether that is through the use of trees and plants, or
with decorative materials.
The use of certain grasses and
conifers provide year round colour. Moss although normally thought of as a
weed, is desired for Japanese Gardens and makes great groundcover, again adding
to the colours and textures. Mixing plants such as a large Hosta or ferns
around small trees fills the soil gap at the bottom of the tree nicely. Trees can
be pruned into specific shapes adding to the dramatic and personal touch. If the space allows, creating a zigzag bridge
within the garden is said to guard off evil spirits.
Having a water feature is a must,
even if only a small pond. Surrounding it with a mixture of large rocks and small decorative pebbles, with grasses and bushes providing greenery and
perhaps some bamboo or an ornament set back away from the water will aid the
Japanese feel. If your pond is large enough, having colourful fish swimming
around will also add life and colour. There’s something quite soothing about
listening to free flowing water, and adding a waterfall will complete the pond
look. Alternatively, you could create a water look by using decorative pebbles
laid in a way to replicate a stream.
Whatever style of garden you have,
whether you’re style takes you to fill the beds with stones, slate chippings or
dark coloured bark chippings, it represents you. To view our collection of aggregates, please visit
our website today.
