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Japanese Gardens: Beautiful in Fall And Winter
| Article
# : |
20570 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
11 / 1992 |
1,851 Words |
| Author
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Virginia Greiner
Virginia Greiner writes a weekly gardening column for the
Washington Times. |
Japanese gardens, with their innate sense of serenity, are becoming increasingly popular with homeowners seeking peace and quiet amid the clamor of twentieth-century living. But these unique gardens, based on ancient design concepts, offer much more than a tranquil retreat. They keep their good looks in all seasons and age very gracefully. They provide unparalleled privacy, even in small spaces. They invite a spirit of meditation about nature. And although they need careful maintenance, they do not need as much work as many other garden styles.
Simplicity is a keynote of a Japanese garden and of any successful attempt to give a more traditional garden a Japanese feeling. Usually only a few strong elements are used: water in some form or another; stones, either large, strategically placed "viewing" rocks or equally strategically placed steppingstones; sand or gravel, used for paths or painstakingly raked into patterns to be views; and a limited palette of plants, including evergreens, ferns, mosses, and small trees with interesting branch structure.
Usually the garden in enclosed by a stone wall or wooden fence capped by a small gabled roof. There is also the suggestion of overhead enclosure, either with overhanging tree branches or the projecting roofline of house. There may be a few accents such as a stone water basin, a stone lantern, a small bridge or some statuary. But less rather than more is the key.
Although the basic ingredients are simple they can take on different characteristics, depending on the time of day and season of the year. Shadows play on the various shapes of smooth and rugged stones, moonlight silhouettes the branches of a gnarled maple against a stone wall, the last rays of sunset streak a still poll with crimson. There may be only one tree, but it will be chosen because its leaves offer a certain color in the fall, or because of the way the fallen leaves look on the path. Sometimes cherry blossoms are deliberately left on the ground or the water's surface to create an effect.
Winter is a particularly beautiful season in Japanese gardens. Tree branches are pruned very deliberately to emphasize their branching patterns, and tall ornamental grasses are left uncut to provide muted winter color. Bamboo fences dusted with snow, stone lanterns glistening with ice, or a dark stream cutting through banks of snow give these gardens life and spirit when many gardens look bleak and bare.
Water: The Liquid
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