Your Backyard Garden

1. Koi pond
2. Water Bridge
3. A small rock garden near the Bridge
4. Create a Zen like garden atmosphere using traditional Japanese shrubs and trees
5. Create a Bonsai garden within my garden
6. Use Bamboo plants, Japanese Green Maples, and Cherry Blossoms as a base around which to incorporate other traditional Japanese landscape plants, flowers and shrubs.

How To Get Help

As fate would have it my neighbor’s Gardener was Japanese.  I had many helpful conversations with him regarding the planning and execution of my Garden.

He was helpful in recommending some local nurseries specializing in Japanese trees and plants.

I also got help from the internet search sites and from local nurseries as to which were the best plants to use in a traditional Japanese garden.

Getting Started

I had most of the Japanese garden tools needed to prune and trim my Garden-to-be; and I also had the basic gardening equipment.

I had my teenage son and his friends dig out a small area for the pond.  Actually the Japanese stone water basins are called chozubachi.  I dedicated a 6 x 8 foot area for my pond and made it look like an elongated oval and placed a varied of rocks and moss around 3 sides and in the back. I created a small rock wall with a waterfall. I bought several small Japanese tea houses and pagodas and placed them around the wall and pond areas. The idea in creating your Japanese garden features is to be creative and yet keep it traditional looking.

The Kenninji Fence

My entire Japanese Zen garden would be approximately 15 feet by 15 feet in a corner of my yard where the brick walls create a right angle corner.  I wanted to build a Bamboo fence around the perimeter of the Garden which is called a Kenninji fence.  This was to keep the Garden private and to keep my dogs and other wildlife out.

Time and Space

The important thing to remember when planning and creating your Japanese garden is that your garden must be as much like nature as possible.  No square ponds, no fountains.  Only natural elements like waterfalls, etc.

Garden Designs

The 3 basic Japanese Garden designs are Hill and Pond, Flat Gardens and the Tea Gardens.

It is helpful to review some garden designs at your local library or on the internet to get a feel for what is practical for you to recreate in your own back yard.

The Garden Elements

The basic traditional Japanese Garden elements are the Rock, the Water, the Plantings and the Ornaments ( like lanterns).

Again you review of your research materials will help you compose your own garden design and style.

My Results

I chose the Hill and Rock with a Koi pond surrounded by moss and bamboo, enclosed in a Bamboo fencing with lanterns on the outside and inside. 

I also placed a bench and chair for reading or meditating.

Along the 2 brick walls I planted Bamboo trees and other Japanese plants and had my Bonsai trees in the moss around the Koi pond with the rock wall with waterfall.

Like all garden projects this one took time but the final results were in my opinion quite good.  I get many compliments on my little Zen hideaway, and I suspect you will too once you devote the necessary effort into creating your own backyard Japanese Garden.

The fun begins when you can sit in your Zen garden and listen to the birds, and water running and feel that you have escaped to a faraway place.  You really do feel quite peaceful and relaxed and it does help eliminate some of the daily stress that builds up in our lives. 

So give it a try. . .