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 ground cover, 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.