November 2018

The Japanese garden became the favourite style of a small garden. It is not casual: the Japanese garden is insignificant, but its image is not settled by the dramatized tiny garden with small lamps, bridges and umbrellas. Every detail of a garden in Japan has a difficult inner meaning, and plants are specific only for this country. In Europe and especially in the midland of Russia it is impossible to use bananas, palm trees and the orchids growing in Tokyo, but it is quite possible to borrow some receptions of decoration, for example, pavement of paths in the form of imitation of waves on sandy or gravel covering or symbolical stone compositions. The main principle of the Japanese garden is sensation of calmness and rest, contemplation of the nature and miniaturization.

The Japanese garden masters reproduce nature on a small site rather limited assets. The denotation of nature in a reduced form to make an impression of spatial depth conducts aspiration to change the proportions of natural scale, to application of dwarfish trees and rocks, it means to some convention and romanticism.

The landscape created in the Japanese garden, is far from the real nature, but the images of this nature altered by the author, are the base and the principles of the garden. Some gardens are similar to hieroglyphs, and it is necessary to be able to read them. The direction and bend of the artificially grown up branch of a tree, the size, form and position of a stone, the material of coverings – all this in conditional form tells us about the plan of author.

See also: Japanese Garden Pictures, Japanese Garden Videos, Landscape Style

The basic characteristic feature of such construction is its naturalness. The garden pond can have any sizes, but its form should be as smoother as possible. And the smaller the pond is the less bends it should have. If you already have such a reservoir at your site, but you think that its form is far away from looking perfectly, it is possible to remove the unpleasant impression at the expense of the right landing of hygrophilous plants on its coast. Their big, freely growing curtains will allow to soften the sharpness of its forms. But it is necessary to mention that the excessive quantity of coastal plants, especially if they are large, are able to considerably reduce the size of your reservoir and on the contrary if there are not enough plants and they are not reasonably placed, it is possible to have the situation that the water smooth surface will visually seem more than it really is.

Stones always look naturally near water, and with its help it is easier to decorate the waterproofing ashore, but it is necessary to be able to work with it. Almost any stone of any size will suit for these purposes if to be guided by the laws of similarity. The stone used within direct visibility should be of the same type surface and colour, but strictly necessary of various size. And, placing it on the bank of the reservoir, it is necessary to try to create a background from small fractions of gravel or a pebble, and larger similar stones have to be spread from above by separate groups. Gradually creeping coastal plants will close the part of gravel, and the overall picture will look picturesque and quite plausible.