Creating a beautiful garden needs great effort and after proper design. I enjoy garden that begs to be explored. The garden path in a garden allows visitors to explore the garden in a very easy and interesting way. These paths can be inviting and will lead the visitor throughout the garden, allowing them to see […]

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A nobedan walk is a type of pathway, or stone walk, found in Japanese gardens. These pathways utilize unique stone pavement layout and design principles. Nobedan are often found in tea and entry gardens. It is an art of arranging various sized stones in a design that is artistic and functional. They help to create […]

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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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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 […]

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There are several different types of pathways used in Japanese and other garden types.  Here in one of our garden project in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, we used a tobishi style path as a short cut off of the main gravel pathway.  The tobishi stepping stones in this case are hand carved limestone pads which […]

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This garden entrance is flanked with a pair of beautifully carved limetsone shigu.  Shigu is actually a Chinese word used to describe the type of sculpture shown in the picture.  Although the bases are actually unfinished the detailed carving of the dragons, foo dog heads and the phoenix or mythical fire birds.  These decorative stone […]

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This Japanese styled comprehensive landscape design / build project, completed in the fall of 2003 welcomes guests with a lushly planted inner garden. Located on the street side of the house, this garden features several large boulders carefully set in a craftsman like manner creating well a balanced and natural effect […]

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The “Inner garden” is just one of the outdoor rooms within this landscape design / build project, located in Shorewood, Minnesota. This Japanese styled garden is one that allows visitors to stroll through the garden, much like a Japanese stroll, or hill & pond garden […]

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The Monet garden is one of the outdoor rooms within the total landscape design build project. Located along the side of the barn and visible from the home’s front entry boardwalk and the adjacent dining room, the garden is a show of color throughout the growing season […]

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Explore this Asian garden influenced landscape project, named the Serene Garden and enter a world of peace, calm and reflection. Around the house proper you will find the entry garden, dry stream, spa garden and dry garden, all of which incorporate Asian garden design principles. Beyond these garden areas is a wonderful open lawn wrapping around the house creating a park like atmosphere. For those who love color and herbaceous planting beds, there is the Monet garden situated across the front lawn adjacent to the barn. Walk the petite allee and gravel paths surrounding a number of planter boxes and let the variety of perennials touch your senses […]

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