Chinahas impressed Europeans with its impressive culture since the Middle Ages. The stories of travelers gave rise to the Chinese style, which contributed to the emergence of this style in the field of landscape design towards the end of the 17th and 18th centuries. This is characterized by the combination of the elements stone, as a symbol of the active male beginning Yang and water, as a symbol of female strength Yin. In a freer design, you will also notice a corner where you can contemplate and enjoy the water, retire or sit with friends.
AJapanese garden, which was created under Chinese influence, is more closed. They serve as a place for solitude and reflection. AJapanese gardenis usually not too bright so as not to distract from meditation. You don't need a lot of space to create this garden. A small terrace is also sufficient.
A Chinese or Japanese Garden – Start working
Think about the main idea and draw up a site plan of the garden. Assess the relief, mark the main zones and determine how the garden paths will run and where the beds will be located. In all of this, pay attention to the characteristics of each garden. AJapanese gardentypically has characteristics such as restraint and a set of expressive elements and its simplicity in terms of colors. Chinese style is usually more open and complex.
Stone and sand are the main elements of the Japanese Garden
Both a Chinese and aJapanese gardenhas stone and water as its main elements. On the one hand, they contrast with each other, but on the other hand, they also complete each other. You can also use accessories typical of the Far East.
A small pavilion completes the combination of plants, water and stone figures
These can be, for example, bamboo sticks that serve as a fence or as a background for the plants, individual stones or groups of stones, as well as expressive, traditional figures such as cranes, turtles, stone lanterns, benches or pavilions with the typical, pointed roof.
A Chinese or Japanese garden – the design and decoration
The place is covered with gravel or stone slabs. These are decorated with moss. In the sunnier places, create a quarry or plant sedum, thyme or other not too colorful, covering plants with small leaves. It is best to combine the different elements for covering so that they look as natural as possible. Wooden floor coverings that are slightly above ground level are typical for gardens with streams or ponds.
Wood decking in harmony with the lawn and plant species
The soil left over after you dig the hole for the pond can be used to build artificial hills, islands, or cascading waterfalls. It is best to create the banks from small stones or pieces of rock, from compact groups of moisture-loving plants that imitate natural models.
Water plants are popular in Chinese and Japanese gardens
You can build a bridge in the narrower areas of the pond or stream. Like all other elements that contain a Chinese orJapanese gardenincludes, this important detail is also full of traditional thoughts. AJapanese gardenhas pleasant bridges made of thick, sometimes unfinished boards or is built from long blocks of stone. They usually run straight or slightly curved over the water. Arched bridges in red and white are typical in the Chinese garden.
A Chinese or Japanese garden should be separated from the rest
So that a Chinese orJapanese gardencan be designed, you should try to separate it from the rest of the garden. This way you avoid disturbing the atmosphere. You can easily create such borders using tall bushes or shrubs, hedges, bamboo fences or reed mats. In Chinese gardens, areas are often separated from each other by entire, uninterrupted walls. In turn, windows of various shapes are added to the walls.
Another typical feature that a Chinese orJapanese gardenowns is the garden path. With the help of garden paths, the pace of movement and direction changes. They prepare for the change of image. Regulating the width and path of the garden path can change the perspective and visually enlarge or reduce the size of the garden. The material used for the path also plays a big role. Steps made of large stone slabs with a rough surface flow into a floor covering of moss or fine gravel.
A Chinese or Japanese garden has a different tradition when it comes to plants
If you want to plant grasses in your garden, you don't need to choose a wide variety of species. The traditional gardens do not have flower beds. The plants surround stones and paths, fill hills and frame bodies of water. There is no need to adhere to symmetry or regularity, as all plant arrangements should look as natural as possible. Mostly grasses and ferns are preferred. The tall miscanthus, riding grasses, pipe grasses and low bluegrasses are particularly suitable for an eastern-style garden.
As decorative woods that you arrange in groups, but especially as those that are intended to stand alone, it is best to choose variants that have unusual shapes. Such a plant is, for example, the Aralia or the Japanese cake tree. When creating artistic variations of eastern gardens, it is important to preserve the contemplative nature of the compositions.
Planning the garden
Typical trees tell the story of the garden
