Japanese Rock Garden Design & Fence – Excelsior Minnesota Landscape Company

April 27, 2007

Because our design work was focused on the street side of the hedge we named the project the “Outer garden”. The rock and carpentry work were very important to the success of the project. We started with a new retaining wall below the hedge facing the auto court. We used small to medium sized gray boulders matching the height of the existing wall. We then installed the granite specimen boulders in the peninsula garden bed along the side property line. The first boulders was set vertically and positioned to be the terminus of the low wall around this garden area. This vertical stone has a unique feature with half of the stone being quartz and the other half granite, so we turned the stone showing off this interesting characteristic. The other three granite boulders were installed in ishi-gumi fashion, with the group of stones becoming one artistic setting. Once these four stones were installed, we then constructed the low wall around the peninsula garden bed.

The next step was to construct the new stone piers on top of the existing foundations. These piers were designed with sloped sides making the top of the pier a little smaller than the base. The piers were constructed with the same stone used for the retaining walls. The caps were made of granite with rock faced edges and a crowned top with a four way wash. The light fixtures are Arroyo Craftsman column mounts, matching the light at the front entry of the house.

The carpentry elements were carefully designed to blend the existing character of the architecture with that of traditional Japanese garden structures. With the fence we achieved this by using bamboo framed with cedar stained to match the house. The middle plate of the taller fence was set perfectly to match the elevation of the top plate of the upper fence at the gateway. The hedge between the auto court and front yard is also maintained to match this same elevation. The detailing of the wing fence section that climbs from the lower garden area in front of the retaining to the top of the wall connecting with the posts of the gateway matches the taller fence parallel to the property line. The gateway itself is a bit of a surprise with the ceiling of the structure incorporating craftsman like character with select structural members stained dark brown highlighting the bamboo in ceiling. The featured decorative beam was cut in the spirit of covered walkways found in both Japanese and Chinese gardens, providing space on the beam to be carved, or painted, with a beautiful scene. We used a Chinese symbol which combines two of the same characters that mean happiness. The symbol, thus means double happiness which is often placed over the doorway after a couple is wed.

After the carpentry was completed we then installed the final specimen stones located in front of the retaining and the stone egder along the cut asphalt. The Feather Reed Grass was used to compliment the character of the bamboo, while the majority of the remaining plants were evergreens, such as; various Rhododendron, Japanese Garden Juniper, Mugho Pine and one specimen contorted Pine.

If you would like our help with your Japanese garden, garden fence or gate please contact us, Niwa Design Studio, at 952-470-1882.

Posted in Asian Gardens, Fences, Garden Art, Garden Types, Japanese Garden Design, Landscape, Stonework