Author Archives: Jennifer

How to Decorate Your Garden with a Simple Japanese Pool

Posted on by

A simple Japanese polis easy to create both indoors and out. If you live in a hot climate you can have a pond going in your back yard all year.
The size of the pond that you create in your garden depends on your budget, availability of materials, drainage methods and filtration requirements. However, fortunately there are no hard or fast rules for pond construction.

Buying a premade plastic tub that is set into the ground is the simplest way to create your own pond. These can occasionally be dumped out and refilled with water from a garden hose. Larger ponds are more complex both in terms of construction and maintenance and involve the use of such devices as drains filters, pumps. skimmers and anti-float devices.

Before you construct a pond, you might want to take into account that they can be very high maintenance. They can become fetid and odorous and attract a lot of mosquitoes. They can also attract animals such as raccoons, rats and opossums. The koi fish in these ponds can also be easy prey for birds and animals and larger ponds may present a safety hazard to children in the neighborhood.

The smallest of ponds can be constructed out of plastic tubs. These tubs are usually molded in irregular shapes. If the pond is over eight feet in length it is recommended that it be lined with black polyethylene sheets to slow the leakage of pond water into the ground. If you want to build a pond that is over fifteen feet in place then it is recommended that a professional construct it.

Ferns are especially effective for providing attractive coverage at the water’s edge. Ferns also naturally serve to stabilize the muddy edge of the pond while at the same time presenting a striking display of foliage.

Water plants such as the Japanese Iris and the lotus can be used to disguise equipment such as pumps and floating devices. Clumps of iris can also prevent the banks of your pond from eroding. Lily pads can protect fish and other wild life in your pond from being preyed upon by birds and other creatures.
One of the simplest of these pools is a reflecting pool. The purpose of a reflecting pool is exactly what is implied by its name. These pools of standing water are used to reflect the arms of trees and other attributes of the garden. The Japanese particularly revere this effect. In traditional Japanese gardens this form of mirrored asymmetry is capitalized on wherever possible.

Reflecting pools are often irregular in shape and surrounded by circular garden paths. Thesis paths also possess many resting-places so that the visitor to the garden can contemplate the shimmering reflections in the water.

How to Decorate a Watergarden in Traditional Japanese Styles

Posted on by

The three most classic Japanese water garden styles are Sibiu , Wabi. And Sabi.
The literal translation of the word Shibui means puckery and is associated with the astringent qualities of the green permission. Things that are shibui (also known as shibuimono) are symbolic of elements that are more austere and reserved in nature, rather than sweet or cute! The word is also associated with “good taste” in the Japanese language.

Still water or reflective water is associated with this design element.

Things that are shibui are also considered to be timeless. It describes elements that are simple, yet beautiful. In Japanese Garden design a number of characteristics define it as shibui including:

• A lack of clutter. The Japanese Garden pond is not the place where you will find a cluster of ceramic garden gnomes.

• Smooth planar surfaces. Flowers are not planted or hung from trees or other structures. Gleaming planes of rock are preferable.

• Odd numbers. Plants and other objects gathered together in low odd numbers (such as two or three rocks as opposed to seventy multi-colored rocks). The asymmetry of the number is three is preferable to the symmetry of things grouped in twos.\

• Sublety. Structures and pathways boast little or no decoration, only the most minimal of symbols.

• No corners. The pond is round in shape.

• Minimal Use of Color. The garden makes use of monochromatic colors. The desired colors of the garden pond are greens with the occasional dash of pink from a lotus.

The Wabi style is also very popular.Wabi also refers to arrangements that provoke a sense of melancholia or existentialism in the viewer. An example of a Wabi type aesthetic experience in a pond is the replacing of a rock that has been pounded smooth by the slow dripping of falling water over time. There is no direct way to explain this in English, but one quality of Wabi is its ability to provoke both elation and sadness at the same time. Babbling and trickling sounds are associated with this type of pond as are objects that have been worn by water or weather.
Such a garden pond’s intention is to restore emotional equilibrium to psyches that are out of touch with nature.
The word that best describes the Sabi concept of the aesthetic that is most comparable to the Western ideas is rustic. Objects in a Sabi garden have a patina and well-worn look to them. The entire aesthetic of Sabi is that “with age comes beauty.”
Sabi gardens show an appreciation of wizened objects such as very old Bonsai trees. There is a serenity and privacy to a Sabi garden that often features very old lichens, bamboo and stone draping into the water In this case, irregularities of nature, such as the occasional creeping vine or stray ground cover is allowed as these plants represent the omnipresent passage of time.