In Search of Utopia

[Regenmeneer]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike T Papa Bear and Regenmeneer: Very nice ponds, what a great start... In the 40+ years that I've been tending to our Japanese Gardens, which encompass our entire lot, I've found that you have to fine tune the garden until you get it right. Maybe add some trees and shrubs while removing others...You have to remember that the gardens of Japan are hundreds of years old... After all these years, I still find that I tweak the gardens as my taste changes and new plant materials become available... As your gardens mature, natural plants will fill the gaps between the stone work making it more natural as the years pass... Depending on the weather and environment in your areas, hopefully lichen and mosses will start growing on and between the rockwork and temper the "new" look... Papa Bear: If Japanese Maples will grow in your area, a red one would really make your pond "Pop" and break the flatness around it, IMHO a great combination would be a red maple set off by 3 dog woods... Maybe a few mounds beneath them. Rengenmeneer: as to the Toros (lanterns) and pagoda, they look very natural to me because they are part and parcel of a Japanese Garden... I've been a student of Japanese Gardens for 40+ years, traveled to Japan for 8 and lived there for two... Except for the newness of the garden, yours is like many of the gardens I visited during my stays in Japan. While most of the gardens look similar, if you study them closely you'll see that many of them have their own personality which was passed down by the gardener who created them... In your case you like color, in mine I try to stay with basic greens framing the koi which add the "color"... There is nothing wrong with either of our designs, it's just a personal preference... As your gardens "Age" they will bring you years of enjoyment and pleasure... Aloha! Mike

Thanx Mike!

The pictures were taken 3 years ago, and the garden has matured quite nicely. I am very carefull not to call my garden a Japanese garden, since I have broken some rules. The waterfall is not in the east, I have two red leaved acer, and there are some plants that have two colored leaves. Probably even broken some rules and don't even know about it. I always call it a pond garden with oriental/Japanese touches to it.

As for finetuning the garden, I have moved some plants, added a 5m Pinus Nigra, and grated a lot off moss from the roof of the house in a blender and spread it out in the garden and pasted it to some rocks. The ground has turned nice and green, especially in the wetter seasons, and there are some nice spots of moss growing on some rocks. Still working on the lanterns though.

About the colors, I selected the plants for their different shades of green and because they haves leaves all year round. But there are some exceptions, three acers, of which two are red, and a ginkgo. There are plants that flower (rodhodendron), and they are pretty bright But they all do so in May, so for the remainder of the year, it's nice and calm green.

I'll keep enjoying my garden!

Regenmeneer

[Mike T]

Regenmeneer:

In my book, your's is a Japanese Garden... When setting up a Japanese Garden I usually only follow two basic rules... 1. Placement of plants, rocks, Toro, etc should always be in a triangular shape( can be vertical or Horizontal or a combination of both), never in a straight line... 2. Said plants, rocks, toro's etc. should be always be set up in odd numbers ( 1ea., 3 ea., 5 each, etc.)... After that, its all personal asthetics...

As to the waterfall, in nature waterfalls are not always in the east... mine is in the west, to be in the east it would have to be in our family room...

Now that your Japanese Garden is 3 years old, would be interesting to see some updated photos...

Aloha! Mike