Japanese Garden

stephentoddpope

i have a few questions about japanese gardens, where can i get inexpensive supplies, how would i display bonsai in it, and would a moss garden work well, for cheap, or a stroll garden

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"A Bonsai! A Bonsai! My kingdom for a Bonsai!"

William Shakespeare

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Robert

Stephen,
If you want an "authentic" looking Japanese garden you would need to study and learn a great deal.....but if you want a Japanese-like garden, you can get that effect be having some significant stones nicely placed, (always bury stones at least 1/3rd into the soil), and you can have real water, or the impression of water, (a dry gravel stream).....pretty inexpensively. Have lots of green plants,(not many flowers) of varied sizes, shapes and textures.....the garden should not be crowded, and should always be kept very neat. As for displaying bonsai, I've taken 6X6X12" cinder block, plaster some cement on the outsides to give it a "natural" appearing texture...stand them on end with either a flat stone, or a piece of slate on top....and then sit your bonsai on it. You can also sit your bonsai on a somewhat flat surface of a rock too. The important thing is not to line up your trees....and not have them crowded. As you stroll through your garden, place them strategically, so you "come upon them unexpectedly".
Of course there are millions of variations, depending on where you are, the topography of your setting; are there significant trees around; is there scenery to "borrow" for your garden, etc. It can be a real fun project....and let it grow and develop as you go along......don't try to get everything set and "perfect" from the beginning.
I wish you well with it.
Robert in Sta.Cruz

stephentoddpope

thanx, i will try, but i only have a small area to do it in, cause i cant take over the yard, my parents won;t let me, so i have to make it small.as for the stones, could you get them at a hardware store, how much do you think it would cost altogeather, an estimate, thanx

__________________
"A Bonsai! A Bonsai! My kingdom for a Bonsai!"

William Shakespeare

Whimsical

Stephen,
Actually, there is a style of japanese gardening that applies specificly toward small areas. You'd do best to goto your local library and do some research. For some reason that escapes me, japanese gardening is a topic scarcely touched in detail on the web(as far as I can find). But basically, you would want to find a confined little area of your yard, and try to add the elemental features of japanese gardens. These are rock, water, and least importantly plants/trees. Moss is an excellent feature in a japanese garden for areas to place stepping stone paths. Never induce a straight line of any of the elements. Formations of plants, stones, and water should be asymetrical. And, for plants and stones should always be in odd numbered groupings if possible. Trees are trained to be smaller than their wild counterparts, but usually not to the extent of bonsai, although through similar techniques and styles. As Robert said, mostly green plants are used to instill a sense of timeless tranquility. In a "corner garden" such as this you would probably only have one accent specimon tree. Japanese red maples and cherry trees are very popular choices for this. The accent tree will bring the changes of the seasons to your little paradise, adding an element of connectiveness to nature. In a garden of this size, many times the element of water is displayed through the use of bamboo deer chasers, or stone wash basins. Both of these can be done beautifully, cheaply, and with much less care than a pond.

There is a brief intro to the art. It will take a good bit of reading and planning. And, a whole crapload of practice in your garden to get a good grasp on the style. As for how cheap, it can be done affordabley. You can find your own rocks, or make them from concrete. Mondo grass, juniper, iris, and other traditional plants are found cheap.

stephentoddpope

thanx, i think i will go to the library. y'all have given me great advice, i am looking in the woods forrocks about a little bit smaller than a head, and some very fast growing moss, also, i think a japanese red laced leave maple, if that what they are called? i like them cause they grow nuturally small, and mound like, w/ beautiful red leav, but i think that will be expensive, so i will probablr have to wait, any way, thanx for all y'alls advice

__________________
"A Bonsai! A Bonsai! My kingdom for a Bonsai!"

William Shakespeare

splinter

Stephen,
I agree with the advice Whimsical gave you. When I was landscaping my backyard, and wanted to give it a Japanese garden "feel," I had a difficult time finding info on the web. There are a lot of books that can give you some ideas. I went to Borders bookstore, drank a lot of latte, and looked through a lot of books. I became a rock hound (still am), and picked up rocks along the road, and areas that were being cleared for housing developments. I used shrubs and trees that aren't necessarily thought of as Japanese, but the colors are great. One tree that I planted would be particularly good to take a cutting from, to start a bonsai. It's a "twisty baby." It's a dwarf locust that is grafted onto a black locust trunk. The leaves are graceful and the limbs are naturally twisty and gnarled. The size range is more like an ornamental tree, than a shade tree. Just be careful to plant according to the size of area you are landscaping. Meaning...if it's a very small area, choose plants that don't get huge. Heavenly bamboo is a nice little shrub that is very easy to grow, and has varied leaf coloring, depending on the time of year. And as Whimsical said, Japanese Maples are used quite often. I planted a little lace leaf Japanese Maple in my patio area. It's got delicate looking leaves that display a range of colors throughout the seasons. Displaying your bonsai in the garden can be done in several ways. I have several large slices of cut tree trunks in varying heights that I sometimes put my little trees on. You'll have fun creating your own little garden paradise. Good luck with your project!

stephentoddpope

i also thaught about a vine maple, they are very pretty, w/ there wounderful colors and i wa woundering if anyone knows anyrthing about thoe, or how i woul use one, i have never seen one in person, just pictures of groups of leave

__________________
"A Bonsai! A Bonsai! My kingdom for a Bonsai!"

William Shakespeare

splinter

I don't know anything about vine Maples. I'll look through my tree books and see if I can find any information on them.

Leesa

Not sure if your area is moist enough for moss??

You might look at sasa grass (sp?) - it is a wonderful low spreading bamboo. Has anyone mentioned bamboo? It is less expensive than maples and very hard to kill. However the rhizomes must be controlled on the spreading varieties. You might consider planting it in 5 - 15 gal cans and burying it in the soil - that way it won't overtake your Mom's roses! The black bamboo is particularly beautiful. And - if it is in cans - you can take it with you when you move out!

To be convincing - I believe that some of the stones really should be much larger than your head! You might consider some pea gravel and some stepping stones instead - randomly placed to create a path - (it does not have to go anywhere) and then place your bonsai along the path - the stands that Robert described would fit this scenario.

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Respectfully, Lee Sanner