Japanese Garden Ideas

Flat gardens or in Japanese do not have hills and do not have any water in the way that a western garden would. The flat area which is essentially made of either sand or more usually gravel IS the water. All Japanese gardens tend to be a lesson in environment and space.

Just like in a garden the is raked into swirls and different shapes to give the impression of the movement in a body of water. The ground is usually covered this way and on occasions I have seen flat gardens that use very small pebbles,once again raked in circles and straight lines to give the impression of water ripples.

A flat garden can include many familiar ingredients that you would expect when making a Japanese garden. Stones, Rocks, Trees and Shrubs are very common.The trees although natural will be pruned and the low level shrubs and bushes shaped on the edge of the water space.

Flat gardens were first designed to interpret and in miniature mimic Japan's seaside landscapes or some of its grander lakes, a journey through Japanese garden history points to war and water shortages as to why water was replaced by gravel as a 'dry' substitute. This is a trend that has continued for hundreds of years even in peacetime and with abundant supplies of water.

Interestingly water features apart from a body of water are fairly common in a Japanese garden. For example, large upright stones can symbolise a waterfall and this something that you can copy for a garden space that you have in mind however large or small.

Other ingredients that you may wish to add to a flat garden are stone lanterns, included for the illumination of parts of the garden at night, basins and if you are very ambitious even a well! Well's are normally constructed out of wood and have some way of getting the water out of the well - a pulley and bucket or a large wooden spoon are common.

Stepping stones can be placed across the gravel water area and look very effective if they lead to the far side of the gravel area where a rustic hut or pagoda is located.