Light Up Your Senses and Bring You to a New Awareness of Self and the Higher Consciousness

A Japanese style garden should ideally be designed to change with the viewer's perspective, so that certain aspects are hidden from some angles and revelaed from other vantage points.

Japanese gardens are broadly categorized as landscape gardens, but each garden can be further distinguished by its style. The 4 important elements of a Japanese garden are . . . water, rocks and sand, vegetation and human made objects.

Water being the origin of all life . . .  rocks and sand to contain the ability to provide peace of mind . . . vegetation being a symbol of life,  with pine trees representing long life . . . and . . . human-made objects, surrounded by other natural elements, represents the beauty of the limitation of life, and thus helps to appreciate nature.

A central focal point can be formed around a charming pottery statue such as an old Japanese fisherman in the act of pulling a fish out of a pond.

The movement of the ripples in the pond is echoed in the meticulously raked gravel chips which extend from both ends of the pond. The raked area, with its surrounds of pebbles is accentuated by carefully placed rocks and plantings of azaleas and English Box, with Japanese water irises and Mondo grass edging the railway sleeper pathway.

Japanese gardens are serene and simple places of calm, providing a peaceful retreat for reflection and meditation. A shady spot would be ideal as a secluded meditative 'room'.

Bonsais and Japanese lanterns of various sizes can add the final finishing touches to your Japanese style garden.