Japanese-style Landscaping: Oriental Design Secrets

Eastern trends are relevant today. European culture welcomes exotics and, along with spiritual practices, original recipes of cuisine and traditions, chooses the Japanese model for the arrangement of the site. The ideas of the eastern direction are clearly different from the classic design techniques. At the same time, liberties in creativity are excluded, and the design is due to strict submission to a given topic.

The Japanese Garden is a philosophy of wisdom, a place for relaxation and contemplation. The space that carries the semantic load is built on miniature, symbols and orderliness. The organization of the landscape is identified with tranquility, and involves detachment. Confessing the principle of the fusion of nature and man, the concept implies a change of landscapes, complementary compositions with the inclusion of independent elements located in solitude.

Realistically reproduce the style and external surroundings from photographs, but an accurate picture requires immersion in the country's culture in order to create full-length plots. It should be present plot "sketches" of dwarf plants, pine, bamboo, stones of acceptable sizes, a reservoir. The design task is to avoid the chaotic conglomeration of conglomerates, and fill the space with the quiet sound of a natural symphony.

Dry landscape

The directional vector in the organization of the site is directed towards the creation of illusions and imitations. Since the Japanese style is due to the presence of a pond, in the absence of water on the site, it is possible to dispense with "waves" in the sand. The main thing is to repeat the Japanese plot in miniature in the manner of kare-sansui ("dry" landscape).

An abstract stream is covered with stones according to design requirements. If gray-blue color is required for color harmony, its bed is decorated with slate or basalt. Limestone and marble of milky tone form light accents, many-sided granite allows you to merge with natural paints due to "earthy" shades.

A stunning effect is produced by a scattering of polished medium-sized pebbles and glass balls that fill the space among the overall conglomerates painted in blue. To duplicate the blue surface of the water, the bugle spills out over the surface of the sand with the preliminary removal of the turf layer.

Nevertheless, the creation of a living source will support the natural surroundings, and will become the main focus of the garden. The location of the source suggests a mound with weighty boulders or an alternative in the form of a hill with a path paved with pebbles or cobblestones.

A stream runs, water murmurs

In the project of organizing an artificial spring, a route pattern of water movement is thought out, covering an area with green spaces. It is enclosed in a closed cycle, and the principle of circulation is built on the overflow of water from the source, moving it to the lower reservoir, and moving along the underground pipe under the pressure of the pump to the starting point.

With a slope with a slope, the problem of angle degrees is not considered, but with a flat surface, you have to make a mound, placing the source on the top of the mound in the form of a “crying stone”. An interesting option with the construction of a retaining wall is either considering a version of a stone grotto, or the idea of a static support with a jug is being translated into reality.

For an even flow, steps with a difference of several centimeters through each meter of paved length are enough. The babbling streams should move along a pebbled path with high thresholds. In the case of a sloping terrain, it is advisable to run a cascade stream. Tiers are formed using stone steps and their number of storeys depends only on the capabilities.

Water Theme Variations

If you remember that stone and water are the main components of design, it will turn out to support the motives of the Japanese genre. The pond usually follows the outline of the hieroglyph "heart", and large boulders around the perimeter of the water surface resemble islands, and are associated with the location of the country.

There are many ways to organize a pond. Film containers, especially from butyl rubber, hold water perfectly, are made to order, and are ready to demonstrate any configuration. A PVC bowl is one of the real methods for choosing a shape. The polyvinyl chloride membrane is presented in different colors, unlike the one indicated above, and this allows the bottom to be green, brown or to match the sky.

You will only have to diligently align the borders with the help of a level to visually smooth out the signs of the artificial origin of the reservoir. If desired, you can install a multi-stage capacity, which looks much more interesting, and is not complicated by the installation. At the last stage, it is allowed to add soil, and plant frost-resistant and moisture-loving plants. A version with a concrete version is considered classic, and is often found when arranging a site.

Stone design

Traditionally, an artificial reservoir requires the addition of stone installations, the prerogative of which is indicated by the need to zoning the territory or masking objects that fall out of the stylistic direction. In fact, they duplicate the relief of the slopes, and often do not accept aesthetic polishing due to the preservation of their originality.

Therefore, cobblestones or boulders, covered with moss or paths from conglomerates, with chaotically sprouted grass, accurately copy natural full-length plots, seem abandoned and frozen in time. You can actually create a rocky garden on any site and, thereby, if necessary, veil an inappropriate ditch, slope and turn them into a rock garden or rockery. Everything is logical, explainable and interconnected. It is great if there is drainage at the chosen place, and it is actively warmed up by the sun. It is not necessary to clutter up the area, but there is no need to leave the space boring and lifeless either.

The arrangement of stones is an art and the scheme involves their grouping in an odd amount. Opt for three large cobblestones for the foundation, and stone fines of the same type for decoration. In the middle, put a large boulder in addition to the other two, inferior in size. The symbolic composition is related to the triad in Buddhism, and in Japan it means a place for spiritual practices, and the formed spatial triangle will contribute to the accumulation of positive energy.

Rockery and rock garden

A garden of this type differs from an alpine hill in the presence of an even relief, few plants and emphasis on size. The gaps between the fragments are filled with gravel, and if there is a desire for a game of contrasts, light pebbles should be poured into the dark formations, and the exact opposite will be repeated in the opposite combination.

Colored pebbles sprinkled on a fertile layer with planted plants are suitable for limestone. Rockery is allowed to have an architectural form, indicated by heavy stones, in the company of creeping plant species characteristic of growing on slopes.

In a small area, a miniature version is organized, where a laid-out slide of mossy stones and lichens can be viewed only from spectacular viewpoints. They are placed one at a time, in an amount of three or five with the illusion of perception of dilapidated rocks.

Everyone has heard about the rock garden and knows "in the face" an artificial slide made of stones, with plants making their way between cobblestones and boulders, built by analogy to the rockery. For decoration, mainly perennial and bulbous species with a preference for uniformity in design are used. Brightness is tiring for the eyes and excites thoughts. Design, in principle, is characterized by muffled colors, sounds and feelings. Green is recognized as the dominant tone, the gallery of the autumn palette is considered auxiliary. White is completely excluded - a symbol of sorrow and mourning.

Vegetation and decoration chips

As for plants, preference is given to species adapted to the climate, and easily taking a given shape. These are pine, dwarf fir tree, rhododendron, azalea, boxwood, maple, barberry, sakura, quince. In oriental culture, three types of tree dominate:

-Plum - its flowering is identified with the coming spring;

-Bamboo - a sign of flexibility and reliability;

- Pine, as the personification of the unwavering spirit;

Their crowns take the form of a small ball, cone or trimmed by steps. Ferns, deciduous varieties, and irises are also in favor. Lush foliage and a riot of colors contradict the eastern concept.

An interesting feature of garden paths. Straight segments are excluded, winding paths do not adhere to strict parameters, and I have arbitrary parameters. Usually paved with flat conglomerates. They are complemented by another important component in the decoration - Japanese lanterns in stone.

Ancient vases, turrets, benches and ceramic flower beds with modest flowers are also characteristic of the decoration of the landscape. A stylish addition is a fence made of bamboo and sodzu - a unique pattern of bamboo stems laid out on the water, and symbolizing the transience of time.

Bridges, numerous stone steps, tsukubai - a miniature pool in a carved stone for washing hands before the tea ceremony, fill the design with meaning. Characteristic asymmetric shapes and curved lines help to most reliably reproduce the classic plots of Japanese design.