A Japanese Garden is Not Your Ordinary Garden

Japanese gardening is much different from the Western style garden.  Most would say that a Japanese garden is far more soul soothing and inspires meditation.  Japanese gardening is a cultural form of gardening that is meant to produce a scene that mimics nature as much as possible.  Using trees, shrubs, rocks, sand, artificial hills, ponds, and flowing water the garden becomes an art form.  The Zen and Shinto traditions are both a large part of Japanese gardening and, because of this; the gardens have a contemplative and reflective state of mind. 

The basic methods of scenery in are a reduced scale, symbolization, and borrowed views.  The reduced scale is the art of taking an actual scene from nature, mountains, rivers, trees, and reproducing it on a smaller scale.  Symbolization involves generalization and abstraction.  An example of this would be using white sand to suggest the ocean.  Borrowed views refer to artists that would use something like an ocean or a forest as a background, but it would end up becoming an important part of the scene.

There are two types of Japanese gardening.  The tsukiyami garden is a hill garden and mainly composed of hills and ponds.  The hiraniwa, which is the exact opposite of the tsukiyami garden, is a flat without any hills or ponds.

The basic elements used in Japanese gardening include rocks, gravel, water, moss, stones, fences, and hedges.  Rocks are used as centerpieces and bring a presence of spirituality to the garden.  According to the Shinto tradition, rocks embody the spirits of nature.  Gravel defines surface and is used to imitate the flow of water when arranged properly.  Stones create a boundary and are sculpted into the form of lanterns.  Water; whether it is in the form of a pond, stream, or waterfall, is an essential part of a Japanese garden.  It can be in the actual form of water or portrayed by gravel, but no matter what, it is crucial to a Japanese gardens balance.

There are several forms and types of plants that are signature of Japanese gardening, the main one being Bonsai.  Bonsai is the art of training everyday, average plants, such as Pine, Cypress, Holly, Cedar, Cherry, Maple, and Beech, to look like large, old trees just in miniature form.  These trees range from five centimeters to one meter and are kept small by pruning, re-potting, pinching of growth, and wiring the branches.

A garden is a wonderful place to relax and meditate.  Whether it is a Japanese garden or Western world garden, designing, building, and planting is a great family event.

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A Guide To Japanese Gardens

Ready for something different in your garden? Take a look at Japanese bridges. These beautiful ornamental bridges bring the Far East right into your back yard or garden.

Japanese bridges add elegance to gardens and look beautiful when placed over a koi pond or Japanese style dry river bed. There are many flowers, shrubs and trees that compliment Japanese bridges also.

If you are interested in Japanese bridges for your garden you may want to look online for ideas and suggestions. There are excellent sites that not only feature the bridges but have information about planning an entire garden space in the Japanese style.

Many of the designs for these Japanese bridges are taken from ancient drawings. The Japanese bridges are graceful and unique. Place a Japanese bridge in your garden and create a space to meditate, a quiet area for contemplation and dreaming. These are just a few of the benefits of having a Japanese bridge.

You might want to begin planning a Japanese bridge by surveying the space you have to work with. Make sure the Japanese bridge is the correct size. The Japanese bridge will not look as lovely as it should if it is too big or too small for the area. Think carefully about the other things you will have in the space. You will want to coordinate the flowers, trees and any other ornamental elements you plan to use. If you have a pond you will need to determine the best Japanese bridge for the pond.

Plan carefully and you will be able to add a little Oriental flair to your yard even if you live in New York City

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