Another GREAT Japanese Garden!

Hi,

Thanks for reading my Japanese gardens blog- it’s the biggest on the internet whcih makes me happy.

Regular readers will know that I like to spread the word about Japanese gardens around the world and I love to reccomend ones that you should try and visit.

Today try Texas, the lone star state. I love this US state and was fairly recently in Dallas and went to Southfork to do the whole Dallas TV show thing and whilst posing for a photo outside the ranch was bitten by a horse!!!! And you thought JR was dangerous.

I digress, but do try and visit the Fort Worth Botanical gardens in Texas. They are magnificent and I really enjoyed my visit.

The Japanese garden is of particular interest to us as enthusiasts. It was established in 1970 and is 7 acres in size, which for a Japanese garden is pretty big.

It has 3 Koi ponds, waterfalls, Japanese bridges, a teahouse, Pagoda, pavillions and a very peaceful meditation garden!

Go visit you will love it!

My Japanese Gardens Manual

Hi,

Thanks for reading , I have been very busy over the last day or so finishing my new ‘Japanese And Zen Gardens’ manual. I have had to redo the website but it will be launched next week and as readers of my blog you will be the first to know so you can check out all the details!

I have some great new photo’s to post later this afternoon on Japanese and Zen gardens.

One thing I would like to say is that after many e mail the new manual will be featuring a lot of information on pruning in Japanese gardens and Pruning for Japanese Maples. Frank you will be getting your copy as you were really keen on this!!

For more information on Japanese gardens go to: www.japzengardens.org

Have a great day! 

More Bonsai Japanese Gardens To Visit

Hi,

Thanks for reading my Japanese gardens blog.

The International Bonsai Arboretum is owned by William N. Valavanis and is totally dedicated to the art of bonsai. They teach bonsai care and it is a great place to buy bonsai equipment. This garden can be viewed by appointment only but it is a spectacular garden full of sculptured trees and rare plants. You can firnd it in West Henrietta in New York, it’s a suburb of Rochester.

One of the most spectacular conservatories in the whole of the United States is the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical gardens in Pittsburgh , Pensylvania. This has 13 garden rooms and six outdoor garden areas, one of which is a Japanese courtyard garden that included Japanese lanterns, a stream and a stunning bonsai collection. The good news is that this conservatory is open ALL year round , seven days a week from 9.30am to 5 pm and even later on Friday’s – 9pm.

Don’t forget to find out more about Bonsai click on the link on the right hand side of this page it will take you to an information page about one of the internets best Bonsai books.

For more information on Japanese Gardens go to: www.japzengardens.org

Have a great day.

Japanese Garden Photograph Of The Day- Portland Japanese Garden In Oregon, USA

Japanese Bonsai Gardens To Visit

Hi,

Thanks for reading my Japanese garden blog . I apologise for not posting yesterday but as was attending a funeral. Sad but inevitable for all of us I suppose. The person concerned is at peace but will be sadly missed.

Following on from my post two days ago on Bonsai I am pleased to be able to post details of some Japanese bonsai gardens that are worth a visit.

As you know in a Japanese garden you are encouraged to reflect, observe and listen and the addition of bonsai is a very welcome thing indeed.

The US has a National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in Washington DC – this has one of the largets collections of bonsai trees anywhere in the world.

The Japanese donated 53 bonsai trees in 1976 to mark the 200th anniversary of american independence and the garden has grown for there. If you visit you can also learn the art of ikebana which is Japanese flower arranging and it’s open 10 am to 3.30pm everyday of the year exccept Christmas day.

In Washington stste a great place to vivit is The Pacific Rim Bonsai collection in Federal Way. It’s free to get in and contains over 50 bonsai trees- several of which are award winners!!

Elandan gardens are located in Bremerton Washington it’s a family owned garden that is open to the public. Some of the trees here are more than 1000 years old. The owner is a man called Dan Robinson who has been an expert in bonsai trees for over 40 years.

Harvard University Arboretum is home to the Larz Bonsai Collection , most of these trees ahve been imported by Larz anderson when he returned to the US after being Ambassador to Japan in 1913. He brought in 39 trees but due to theft and dubious care only 15 of the originals are left- however the collection is still well worth a visit.

Tomorrow I will post more reccomendations to visit.

PLEASE NOTE: For everything you need to knwo about all aspects of Japanese and Zen gardens try my manual, it’s on special offer but will increase in price from September 7th 2007. You can by reading it claim your FREE Japanese Gardens Photo slide show- featuring 100 superb colour Japanese gardens photgraphs from all over the world. It’s stunning and you will really appreciate the beauty of some of these creations!

GO TO : WWW.JAPZENGARDENS.ORG

Have a great day!

The Two Most Important Things To Do With Bonsai Trees

Hi,

Thanks for reding my Japanese gardens blog.

I had an email from Joyce Sinton in Yorkshire in the UK requesting some information about Bonsai trees. I directed Joyce to a great manual on Bonsai trees with lots of tips and secrets , I have a link to it on the right-hand side of this page. Take a look.

Perhaps the two most important things to remember with bonsia is that watering is SO important. Some from your can if you are keeping it indoors but as you probably know you will have to leave your bonsai tree outside too. If you don’t it will not survive. Do not place them in constant direct sunlight either…they will die.

Water is the lifeblood of any plant, some species of bonsai require more watering than others.

The other important factor in growing bonsai is the maintenace of your tree. This consists of shaping, pruning and styling your trees(s). This is a real skill with a fair amount of logic to it. Once you’ve learn’t what to do it will become second nature. As I say there is a link to a really informative Bonsai manual on the right hand side of this page under the heading ‘Blogroll’.

For more information about Japanese and Zen gardens go to: www.japzengardens.org

Have a great day! 

Trees And Plants/Shrubs To See in Huntington Botanical Garden

Hi,

Thanks for reading my Japanese garden blog. There is a lot going on behind the scenes at the moment not least producing all the cd’s for my Japanese Garden Photo gallery. It contains over 100 superb Japanese gardens sphot’s from all over the world and lots of typical design features, elements and examples for you to enjoy. Everyone who has bought my Japanese garden manual will be getting this photo extravaganza free. Try my manual it is written especially for lovers of Japanese gardens in easy to understand plain English it’s at : www.japzen gardens.org

Ok, lets get on to the issue in hand. Plants, tress and shrubs that you can see in the Huntigton Japanese gardens in Los angeles, California.

There are lots of Bonsai,intentionally dwarfed trees that replicate larger ones of the same variety and are aged bu care and pruning.

You can see Suiseki which are also known as ‘viewing stones’. These can represent humans, an animal or even mountains.

There are Japanese flowering plums, flowering cherry’s, same variety of peach and nectarines and Japanese flowering cheerie’s plus Nanking cherry too.

There is lots of Bamboo- several varieties like clumping, running, dwarf.

the pines include- Japanese black pine, Japanese red pines, Aleppo pines, stone and Canary island pines too.

This is a magnificent set of Japanese gardens and if in the are well worth a visit. Let me know what you think. You can e mail me direct at zeniboltd@aol.com

Have a great day. 

The Japanese Gardens At Huntington, L.A. California

Hi ,

Thanks for reading my Japanese gardens blog.

The Japanese gardens in L.A California have been bought to my attention and I haved asked the owners for a couple of photo’s to post on the site. I expect them to be in touch later today.

These gardens are stunning examples of what Japanese gardens are all about. The 3 main elements are present namely Water, Rocks and Plants. George Marsh who opened a Japanese Tea garden in Pasadena was contacted to give his input to these gardens in 1912. It took seventy men nearly five months to move the Tea hopuse, plants and ornaments to the currectn site. Japanese craftsmen built the ‘Moon’ bridge and in 1968, the Zen court and Bonsai court first opened to the public.

The central garden is a private Japanese strolling garden.

The House- is an upper middle class home from the 1800’s Shoin style. It has unpainted surfaces and natural materials so that visitors can appreciate the beauty of nature.

The rock garden also know as Karesansui – which can also be a sand garden or ‘dry’ garden. the classic characteristic of these types of Japanese gardens is that the viewer has to use their imagination to interpret what they are looking at. It si usually viewed from the veranda of a Buddhist temple compound.

The array of trees and plants are beautiful and mostly very traditional and I will post about them in these gardens tomorrow , hopefuly with some pictures for you to enjoy too!

For more information about Japanese gardens try my manual, you can download it in seconds! Go to: www.japzengardens.org

The site for the Huntington Botanical gardens is : www.huntingtonbotanical.org

Have a great day and keep your e mails coming. I love to hear from fellow Japanese garden lovers and readers of this blog. 

The Difference Between Water In Japanese Gardens And Western Gardens

Hi,

Thanks for reading my Japanese gardens blog, I hope that you are having a nice weekend.

This post will give some sort of explanation as to the different use and meaning of water in Japanese gardens and normal western gardens. Both types of gardens will use water or water features such as ponds but in Japanese and Zen gardens the belief is that the garden must embrace things in general as they are in their natural sate. This means that fountains are not something that you would find in a Japanese garden as it is clearly manufactured.

The shapes of ponds must look natural for this reason too. The preferred water content of a Japanese garden will be either a stream or a waterfall and they must look and feel organic. They should have a few imperfections to give the water a ‘natural’ look.

Water is never placed in the centre of the garden- particularly ponds. these will often have larger stones within them to simulate islands. Sometimes it is common for them to have a smallish waterfall. The use of stones is always very structural and symmetrical. This also applies to the Japanese and Zen garden.

As you will know most Western gardens are quite the opposite. This is an important difference.

Japanese gardens are spiritual and a symmetrical set of features or design flies in the face of nature and it’s natural order.

If you would like to know more about Japanese and Zen gardens and ALL aspects of what to do, why the gardens are like they are, secrets and tips- including a large section on what to grow/plant and why…try my manual at : www.japzengardens.org

Have a good day. 

Had A Stressful Day? Relax With This Picture Of The Japanese Friendship Garden In Phoenix!

 (If you move your mouse onto the picture you can enlarge it with wordpress software)

Hi Thanks for coming to my Japanese garden blog.

I already posted today earlier but thought a bit of pictorial relaxation may be the order of the day or night!

I will post again as usual tomorrow.

Bye for now.