The shoe removal stone, or kustu-nugi-ishi, literally is the stone you stand on when removing your shoes before entering a Japanese home. These stones are generally found in the foyer of the home or adjacent to an engawa, or veranda, where you access the garden from the home. The shoe removal stone also delineates where […]

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Karesansui, or Japanese dry garden, literally means dry mountains and water. Whether you are looking to design and build a Zen style garden, dry pond or dry stream the common element is the use of rocks and gravel to simulate water. Maybe you are interested in a large open courtyard garden with raked sea gravel […]

Posted in Asian Gardens, Dry Garden, Garden Types, Japanese Garden Design, Landscape, Ponds & Koi Comments Off on Japanese Gardens, Dry Pond Garden

The “tsukubai”, or water basin, is a common water feature found in Japanese gardens. Before entering a tea room guests were expected to be pure of mind and body. Thus the tea garden provided a serene environment to relax the spirit and within it the garden a water basin for cleansing the body. The water […]

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Many homes have few driveway options because the distance from the home to the street is too short, thus limiting the amount of space available for layouts that require more room. Even then there are a number of design elements to consider, which will be discussed in a future article. This article is about the […]

Posted in Design Ideas, Driveways, Landscape Comments Off on Circle Driveway Design & Layout

An early step in the design process of any project is to take an inventory of the sites existing conditions. In addition to studying the sit you need to understand where your property lines are, setbacks, local codes and other criteria that is not visible. This done by defining your project and the project area […]

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Koi can be a wonderful addition to your Japanese garden pond, or koi pond. Some Japanese gardeners believe that koi do not belong in a truly authentic Japanese garden even though they do not deny their beauty. This opinion also seems to be more of a minority than the majority. It seems that more often […]

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More and more people are looking to Japanese garden for inspiration, or to create an authentic Japanese garden of their own. In addition to a well thought out plan good stone work is the back bone of the garden. Many publications write about 3 and 5 stone arrangements known as ishi-gumi and iwa-gumi. Although these […]

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When specifying plant materials for stepping stone, or tobishi, pathways in Japanese gardens it is important to consider the size of the stone. A larger stone will allow for a taller groundcover, say one that grows about 5-8 inches, while smaller stones require a shorter plant selection of not more than 4 inches tall. Planting […]

Posted in Asian Gardens, Garden Types, Landscape, Paths, Perennials, Plant Materials, Plants for Special Conditions, Walks Comments Off on Groundcovers & Stepping Stones

From stepping stones, bridge stones, specimen boulders, nobedan walks, a variety of gravels and hand carved stone features, stones make-up the backbone of any Japanese Garden and should be considered an important investment into your Japanese Garden project. So, when designing and constructing your Garden make sure to account for and invest in stones and […]

Posted in Asian Gardens, Design Ideas, Garden Types, Landscape, Stonework Comments Off on Japanese Gardens – Large Stones

When designing your garden and selecting the edging for your project consider making a bold and distinctive border by introducing multiple edges. These may be poly edging, steel edging, aluminum edging, wood or stone with a variety of material between them. This is often seen in Japanese gardens, especially near engawa, or verandas, where the […]

Posted in Edging, Landscape Comments Off on Lawn Edging Materials – Multiple Edgers