Things to know when designing a Japanese water garden

A beautiful Japanese water garden is a special synergy between layout and design. The ponds should be pleasant to the eyes and relaxing. A designer of Japanese water garden takes too much effort in capturing the naturalistic landscape with technical realities involve in the building of swimming pool. Most designers of Japanese water gardens consider their work their sculptural creation.

The Japanese have long perfected the art of water garden. Water features are very notable in most Japanese gardens. Because of its natural beauty and incomparable craftsmanship, Japanese water gardens can be found in almost any part of the world.

But a real Japanese water garden is designed not on papers or studios but rather out in the field, boulder by boulder. Designers of a real Japanese water garden completes their garden design using real rocks, plants, dirt and water.

Here are some backgrounds on the different Japanese water garden designs:

Pond edging – Learning the fundamentals of a successful pond edging is crucial when designing a Japanese water garden. Use very large boulders with edges. You can avoid the neclace effect when arranging the boulders by using several edging techniques.

Watercourse gate stones – This technique involves the use of natural stream courses that are designed to flow through “gates.” Study ways and the different techniques on how to make gates and where to properly place then in your home garden.

Living water, flowing streams – Another unique feature of a Japanese garden are the use of water and pond construction. Most Japanese water gardens have koi ponds but they are not shaped like round bowls. Try to design your garden to capture the natural landscape. Use simple design in the garden stream, keep it simple and flowing in a straight line. Japanese water garden stream flows smoothly with no dead water spot.

Linking pond to the surrounding landscape – A major flaw of some backyard water gardens is that their design does not jive with the natural surrounding. The pond looks as if it was plucked from somewhere, almost out of place. Japanese water gardens connect with the surrounding and in harmony with the rest of the garden’s natural landscape.