Designing a Japanese Garden

Whilst running a garden maintenance business near Washington DC, I began creating some basic garden designs that I felt would work well in the area. One design in particular struck me as fitting in with city/suburban life style where lots are small, stress is high and time is of a premium. Rather than let the design sit idly on my hard drive I decided to put it out on the WWW where it might provide some inspiration.

Japanese style gardens work really well for people living in city areas where garden space is at a premium and many people work long days in stressful jobs confined to cubicles and offices. Japanese gardens tend to have a wonderfully serene formality to them by using natural elements like rock and sand, set in carefully designed beds and enclosures. They can give a cool and sophisticated environment in which to entertain as well as a quiet and serene place to relax. Another benefit of this garden style is that the use of large beds of gravel and rock can significantly reduce the amount of maintenance required.

The design uses a basic diagonal structure for the overall garden. This helps to make the garden look longer and more spacious by dragging the eye away from its far end. It would be equally possible to base the design on a circular or square motif. In this case however, the aim was to use the garden for entertaining so it is an advantage to give it a more spacious look and feel. In addition to this the diagonal lines gave a nice interface for the diagonal walkway that traverses the side of the house.

Front Garden