This rock garden represents islands in a sea. Large rocks are typically placed in 3's to represent the Buddhist trinity of heaven, earth, and man.
Japanese garden design continues the Chinese tradition of idealizing nature with a focus on balance and harmony. After all Buddhist monks brought garden techniques from China to Korea to Japan. More similar than different, Japanese gardens became more distinct when Japan sought to differentiate itself from China in the middle ages. Key elements of the Japanese garden are outlined in the 11th century garden book Sakuteiki. Look for landcape "portraits" with lakes, islands, and clipped trees; minimalist Zen gardens of raked stone; tea ceremony spaces. Thanks to Japanese immigrants who created traditional gardens around the world, Japanese style gardens are among the most popular and well known styles.
Check out the posts below for other examples of gardens inspired by the Japanese style.
Thanks to Eliza Scidmore, cherry blossoms have become an integral element that welcomes spring. These natives of the Himalayas are among the first trees to bloom, transforming winter’s gray into clouds of white and soft pink. But it wasn't easy getting cherry trees to US shores. If at first you don't succeed, try again...
Immigrants have a significant impact on US gardens. In Alexia Campbell’s The Atlantic article she explains, “the landscaping industry has become the largest employer of foreign, non-agricultural guest workers.” Some things never change. While Campbell’s article was written last year, it could have been written one hundred years ago. Take Fujitaro Kubota for example. In 1907, Kubota emigrated to the US...
I learn something new every time I visit a garden. What struck me the most about Russel Wright’s home and studio, Manitoga, was how he used garden paths as his organizing principle for the landscape. Everything is selected and arranged so that the visitor has a deliberate experience...
Nothing is more fun than having a friend take you through one of their favorite landscapes. On my recent visit to the Hudson River valley, I had the luck to run into a friend who introduced me to Manitoga – pioneering designer Russel Wright’s home and studio. “What, you’ve never been to Manitoga? Let’s go!”
“We all love trees, old trees have meaning. So what if you could grow a tree in the palm of your hand? How amazing is that! That is what bonsai is about.” The Fox Valley Bonsai Society makes the ancient art of penjing and bonsai accessible and fun...
What happens when a successful lifestyle designer takes control of an abandoned quarry? The designer was Russel Wright and the site was the Old King’s quarry. It was there that he created his home and studio: Manitoga...
Nature by itself has a way of replenishing us. When a landscape is specifically designed as a healing space, that is something special. That is exactly what happens here. During my visit, I left agendas and maps behind and let the garden path guide me; one scene led to another. As I moved deeper into the space...
Under a blanket of snow, the Brinkman’s Wisconsin yard blends in with the neighborhood. But in summer, their garden explodes into a tropical paradise. Just as Victorian plant hunters used glass houses to cultivate exotics in England, the Brinkman's have built their own glass house to do the same here...
There is nothing like a good garden gate to welcome us into an outdoor space. Garden gates tell us where to enter the landscape – mark the separation between the outer and inner worlds of the garden - and provide a sort of invitation. Here are a few of my favorite. What's your favorite garden gate?