The Garden Designer / Phil Wood
How to capture the spirit of a Japanese garden

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Q: We admire Japanese gardens and would like to add some Japanese-style touches to our own garden. What suggestions do you have?

A: The Northwest is one of the most far-flung reaches of the Western world.

Immigrants from Europe have carried this long tradition of garden design here. Our region also is the closest point in the continental United States to Japan and the Far East. People from Japan have come here and brought with them the knowledge of creating beautiful gardens, and trade with Japan has brought interest in Japanese culture, of which the Japanese garden is a striking example.

Japanese gardens involve as much artifice as any other garden. Since they seek to emulate and even abstract the natural world, the human maker's hand is hidden and nature shines through. I find it fascinating that all gardens use the same building blocks: stone, water, plants and structure, such as walls and fences, and yet can express totally different styles.

We as gardeners in this time and place have the opportunity to consciously choose how our gardens will look and feel. We may not be able to re-create an authentic Japanese garden if we have not been deeply immersed in the Japanese garden tradition, but we can borrow the spirit and extend it into our gardens.

The study of Japanese gardens can give us access to a view of garden-making that allows a reverence for the natural world and a way of holding it close in our urban lives.

Paths are a good place to start in our discussion, and if you can observe what happens on the ground in a Japanese garden and re-create it in your own situation, you will go a long way toward catching the spirit. Paths often change direction or curve out of sight. Never would a path create a vista across the garden as may be found in a Western garden. Stepping stones can add to an informal feeling. Rectangular stone slabs can be used, set in a staggered manner or mixed in with natural shaped stones. The materials used to make a path change frequently so that the surface alters underfoot, from gravel to stepping stones to concrete set with a pattern of pebbles.

The interplay between right-angle geometry and natural forms is a strong element. Think of an irregular pine branch against the rectangles of a shoji screen, or the wandering lines of the garden viewed through the framework created by the deck and columns of the engawa, the covered porch surrounding many Japanese structures. A fence or gate can provide this rectilinear contrast as well as provide details that reinforce the atmosphere of the Japanese garden. A covered gate is a traditional entry that would work well. Bamboo makes a good fencing material that can be used in many different ways.

Choose plants for your garden that are traditional such as bamboo, pine and Japanese maples. Shaping of plants is an element of Japanese gardens, especially pines and evergreen azaleas. It is an art that is difficult to master and probably best left out of the picture if you do not have the time to devote to it.

Just as in using any garden style as a jumping off point, seek out readily available resources. By visiting local Japanese gardens and spending time with some of the many good books on the subject, you can breathe spirit into your own garden.

We have two Japanese gardens in Seattle. Kubota Gardens (206-684-4584) is in south Seattle at Renton Avenue South and 55th Avenue South. It is open during all daylight hours with no admission charge. The Seattle Japanese Garden (206-684-4725) is in Washington Park Arboretum on Lake Washington Boulevard. It will reopen for the season at 11 a.m. today with an annual garden-blessing ceremony and remain open daily through Sept. 9 from 11 a.m. to dusk. Admission is $2.50.

Phil Wood has a degree in landscape architecture and designs and builds gardens. Call 206-464-8533 or e-mail thegardendesigner@seattletimes.com with your questions. Sorry, no personal replies.

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