Features to Expect in a Japanese Garden
21.07.2023 - 23:12 / awaytogarden.com
WHEN I CAME TO THIS GARDEN in the 1980s, I brought just two plants, tucked into the back of the moving van last-minute by movers who looked at me as if to say, “Really, lady?” One was a clump of dark purple Siberian iris tossed into a recycled produce-store bushel basket; the other a young Japanese umbrella pine I’d had for only a few years and just couldn’t seem to leave behind. Thank goodness I didn’t. Sciadopitys verticillata is my most beloved conifer, and the most-asked-about plant in my garden all these years.At the time of the transplanting of the young umbrella pine, I had never seen another except in botanical-garden collections; unusual or rare was the word. Now they’re at nurseries, but usually quite small and always quite expensive, and they’re pretty easy to kill, at least at first. But what did I know when I uprooted the tree and had it put in that truck?
I was just getting really serious about plants, and was a beginning garden writer, meaning I had the privilege of getting paid to visit gardens and nurseries and interview experts for stories. Those years formed my advanced education in horticulture—and also my downfall in self-control. Everybody showed me or told me about something I simply had to have. Or two or three.An umbrella pine first spoke to me in a come-hither voice at Planting Fields Arboretum in Oyster Bay, Long Island, a place I’d visited a lot as a teenager that happily became part of my “beat” as garden editor of Long Island-based “Newsday” newspaper.
Its needles are arranged in whorls, like the spokes in an umbrella, hence the name (see detail photo). And there’s something else attention-grabbing about the foliage: Visitors to the garden often come to find me to ask about the “tree overFeatures to Expect in a Japanese Garden
The Japanese poetic work, ‘Manyoshu’ published in 759 AD but written 300-400 years prior selected 7 flowers for Autumn. This corresponds to the 7 Herbs of spring reported on an earlier post.
Ornamental Japanese Maples are widely available for planting in your garden. The autumn colouring makes these trees spectacular when planted en mass in a woodland or Japanese garden setting.
Despite my garden being full to overflowing after the spring rain I have decided to create a new area for a Japanese Garden. When starting a new project I was advised to have a name that may colour the end result. I opted for the grand title of ‘Japan Land’Â This will be a long term project and I won’t rush it as I have on other projects in the past.
London Holland Park’s water feature in Kyoto Garden.
The Japanese have a long and detailed affair with fruit tree blossom. Apricots, Prunus armenaica and Plums, Prunus salicina are well known to western gardeners but what of Mumes.
Japanese maple or Acer palmatum are popular trees and small shrubs. They are grown for an attractive habit and dramatic foliage.
Read Japanese Maple root and branch review
My ‘Samurai garden’ is a small homage to a full blown Japanese garden. I was attracted to Japanese gardens when I attended a talk at our local garden society. (They are often good events to pick up tips or special plants. I belong to a couple but only attend if there is something of interest.) After starting on my project I was surprised how many Japanese gardens there were to visit or spot when walking around.
You do not need to garden on top of a hill or mountain to have an Alpine garden but it helps. Alpine plants tend to have deep roots and a deeper dislike for wet around their necks. Many alpines are bulbs and use other tactics to survive harsh conditions. For every generalisation there is an exception and this book gives you a better insight into Alpine plants.
Holland Park has some Zen like features but fails my Zen test. The classic elements of a successful Zen are stone, sand or gravel, water, plants and space. Then there is a question of balance between yin and yang. Cramped or cluttered gardens inhibit the flow of spirit so space is potentially the key ingredient of a Zen garden.