I have decided to set up a Japanese Garden Club that will feature huge amounts of images, video’s, information, expert help and tips on Japanese gardens. It is taking a LOT of work to put together but it will be worth it. I am determined to provide my readers and fellow enthusiasts with the BEST Japanese garden information available.

I would be very grateful if you could respond to this little poll to give me an idea of what sort of interest there is and I thank you for letting me know your thoughts…they are very important to me.

Russ

Thanks for visiting my Japanese garden blog. It has been running for quite a few years now and I am always delighted to hear your thoughts and views.

I have another Japanese garden website – that I set up to give people ideas, hints and hopefully inspiration if they were think of making a Japanese garden in their yard or space.

If that is what you plan to do then take a look at some recent articles and information that I have written about just click on the links below to discover fascinating Japanese garden information:

The choices you have for making a Japanese garden CLICK HERE

Why ‘balance’ is SO important in a Japanese garden CLICK HERE

Pruning in a Japanese garden CLICK HERE

Stones and Buddha’s in a Japanese garden CLICK HERE

Also, check out these DVD’s on Japanese gardens- I have scoured the internet and these three that are on amazon really hit the spot for beauty, tranquility and inspiration…worth a look CLICK HERE

Enjoy your weekend and any questions please ask.

Russ

Thanks for visiting my Japanese and Zen gardens website. I hope you have a very happy and peaceful 2012!

I have just posted an interesting piece on our sister site http://wwwmakingajapanesegarsden.com about rocks and Buddha’s in Japanese and Oriental gardens. CLICK HERE to view it.

Also, I am now on TWITTER you can follow me @japangdninfo – been on for just a couple of days but it would be great to tweet! I will put some interesting stuff on twitter as time goes by.

Later this year , there will be more video’s coming, lots of Japanese and Zen garden information, advice and tips plus I am currently setting up The Japanese Garden Club which I am very excited about and will post everything you need to know on this site in a couple of months.

Happy New Year again and please bookmark us and keep coming back!

Russ

Thanks for visiting my Japanese garden blog.

Just in case you don’t have time to search through the reams of material about Japanese gardens on this website, I have made a number of articles and my Japanese garden manual available on Amazon’s Kindle bookstore. The links are as follows:

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Gardens-Design-Ingredients-ebook/dp/B005W9P2QQ/ref=sr_1_15?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1320146741&sr=1-15

http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Gardens-ebook/dp/B005WAVYXA/ref=sr_1_16?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1320147006&sr=1-16

http://www.amazon.com/Creating-A-Japanese-Garden-ebook/dp/B00607M1GI/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1320147117&sr=1-6

The manual is here  CLICK HERE

Enjoy your day.

In the last few days I have been putting a lot of information on Amazon’s excellent Kindle service both in the US , Asia and Europe. My Japanese garden manual is now available from Kindle and you can find out about it by clicking here.

We have had a Japanese garden design site for quite a while and if that interests you please take a look CLICK HERE  – its called makingajapanesegarden.com

plus we have a website where we have our manual on Japanese and Zen gardens – CLICK HERE  to visit it.

It is in plain English and ideal if you are just wanting to know about Japanese gardens right the way through to their history, design, the types there are, what to put in them and a whole lot more!

PLUS – I have been working on a new project The Japanese Garden Club – that is not ready yet but when it is it will bring all of these websites together for one great big Japanese garden information centre with design maps, video’s, articles, pictures, a forum, free E books etc etc.

So please keep coming back as I will post news of the Club’s opening in due course but it is a lot of work to get it right before I open it, so to speak online. I am very excited about it and hopefully when I can tell you more you will be too.

Have a great day.

Russ

o visit it – it is in plain English and ideal if you are just wanting to know about Japanese gardens right the way through to their history, design, the types there are, what to put in them and a whole lot more!

Edging is used in all sort of gardens all over the world but in a Japanese garden , when placed properly and with the right materials, it can really be highly effective. You could have a borderline between the garden and other parts of your space if you are just utilising a small area. A borderline can also be used to give paths an edge too.

In a Japanese garden you can use all sorts of edging materials. Cast stone, Bamboo, edging stones, slate, brics and even an iron fence.

Slate because of its different shades will provide clean lines in your project when making a Japanese garden. Terracotta is also one of the top edging ingredients used because of its shade of colour. Stone can be used for edging a pond or a smaller building.

In a Japanese garden gravel can be used as either a pathway OR as a border to give a distinguishing line between areas. The use of bricks is becoming more common in Japanese garden design and not as a straight line laid out going one way or another. Bricks can be laid in all sorts of ways to make the garden interesting – so do not be afraid to experiment.

Concrete can be moulded easily for any kind of edging look that you want to achieve. River rock gives a totally natural feel to eding and cast stone is sometimes used as an alternative for natural rock.

Edging with bamboo is a way of creating some intricate edging for the garden. Simply, cut the can of the bamboo to the height that you want and bury in the ground for quick and effective results. Sometimes, metal fencing is added to Japanese gardens as some people feel that its addition adds a certain amount of elegance.

Japanese gardens are famous for their pece and tranquility so remeber the colour and style of the edging that you choose NEEDS to match and follopw the natural flow of the garden. A couple of good tips – a Japanese garden is all about nature, so if you do some edging with rocks don’t make them all the same size because in nature that simply wouldn’t happen. Spread the rocks around in different sizes. The same goes with trees or shrubs – think NATURAL in your design thoughts and you should find that the ideas flow quickly and naturally for your design.

Here are some images of eging in a JApanese garden.

Boulders overgrown with moss, old trees, stone arrangements are all examples of this mantra. ‘Nature’ in a Japanese garden is fundamental and it’s appearance should reflect natural looks rather than manufactured looks – even if the garden is designed in a specific way and by definition is not old at all.

Perennials and bulbs are sporadically planted to highlight the natural character of the garden rocks that are placed ‘naturally’ in the design itself. Stone and water go together in a Japanese garden and the water element can be anything from a shallow stone basis through to a pond or small waterfall. Water must be in a Japanese garden and it is something that you will realise is not only essential but pleasing on the senses.

Japanese gardens always stress the importance of the proportionate beauty of nature itself. They are very time consumng to look after but that is part of the dedication you will need to be a Japanese gardener. All Japanese gardens are designed to hide any form of human interference and to display a ‘natural world’.

Nature consists of Stone, Water and Plants and these are 3 of the principle ingredients of a Japanese garden for this reason. The history of these garden goes back hundreds if not thousands of years and embrace nature in all their forms.

Find out more about Japanese Gardens on Kindle :

CLICK HERE FOR JAPANESE GARDEN INFORMATION ON Amazon

CLICK HERE FOR JAPANESE GARDEN INGREDIENTS AND DESIGN INFORMATION ON Amazon

Both are a collection of articles that you will find interesting if you are curious and wish to know more about Japanese gardens.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Japanese people and to you if you have friends or relatives who have been affected by this tragedy.

We will post again in the next few days. Thanks for visiting.

Thanks for coming back to my Japanese garden blog.Today’s post as promised concentrates on the 5 Types of stones that can be used in Japanese garden design. We have a FREE video on ‘Making A Japanese Garden’ at our new design and landscaping information website for Japanese and Zen gardens. You can get to see the video by going to this website: www.makingajapanesegarden.com

So, on with todays post.There are 5 main types of stone groupings in a Japanese rock garden and each type has a name and a meaning. These stones and rocks can be used in many combinations so if you are thinking of designing your own Japanese rock garden or adding to what you already have there is plenty of scope for creativity!

The first type of stone is the ‘Soul Stone’ it is low and vertical. Secondly, is the ‘Body Stone’ which is as a rule tall and vertical in shape. The third type of stone is called ‘The Heart Stone’ or ‘Flat Stone’ – and that’s exactly what it is. Fourthly, is the ‘Branching Stone ‘ or Arching stone and last but not least is the ‘Ox Stone’ which can also be known as the ‘reclining’ stone.

All of these stones are included in Japanese rock gardens and Japanese gardens because of their ‘positive’ meaning and influence but, as you know in life for every positive there is usually a negative and so it is in Japanese gardens. ‘Bad’ stones and rocks can be put into 3 categories and these are never used in Japanese rock gardens. Firstly, there are ‘Diseased Stones’ these are stones that are withered or have a misshapen top. Secondly, comes the ‘Dead Stone’ this is a stone that is obviously used as a horizontal one and vice versa and finally, the ‘Pauper Stone’ which is a stone that has no direct connection to any other stones in the garden.

To find out more about rocks and stones in Japanese gardens try our extensive manual at : www.japzengarden.org

Have a great day.