日本庭園, Japanese Garden Design

As my woodland garden begins to take shape during this second year since we bought our home, I feel a pull to incorporate elements of Japanese Garden Design into the landscape. If the land could talk, I feel it would be whispering "make me into a Japanese Woodland Garden", and already much of the shrubbery present (Pieris Japonica, Euonymus Alata, Camellias, Peony Tree, Satsuki Azaleas) originate in the Orient. The Japanese Garden aesthetic emphasizes being in harmony with nature, and features may include:

* Water, real or symbolic.
* Rocks or stone arrangements (or settings).
* A teahouse or pavilion.
* An enclosure device such as a hedge, fence, or wall of traditional character.
* A bridge to the island, or stepping stones.
* A Stone lantern of some sort.

My garden already contains rocks and stone, there is a "bridge" to connect the deck closest to the house to the outlying floating deck, and I was already planning to install a Bubbling Urn water feature to be a focal point of the garden. I found a seedling Japanese Maple 'Bloodgood' at Home Depot last weekend for $12.97, and my plan is to transplant the Honeysuckle to the corner of the back of the deck, replacing it with the Bloodgood. The current Rock Garden is overrun with weeds & vines, and so I will dig those out and replace with a few pockets of shimmering Lamium 'White Nancy'. To bring it all together, I will add in smooth silver/gray river rock.

Rock Garden

Back Border
I would like to add a stone lantern somewhere, and so most likely I will move the bird bath that is under the Pink Dogwood and put the lantern in its place.

The National Arboretum

The National Arboretum really has something for everyone, and today my husband & I spent the afternoon exploring not only the Bonsai Garden with it's Satsuki Azalea Exhibit, but also the grounds that are further away from the entrance where we had never ventured before. It's become our tradition to visit the Arboretum each Fall for the annual Orchid Show, but never before had we seen the vast space set aside for the varied Tree Collection. The beautiful Southern Magnolias (Magnolia Grandiflora) are abloom as are the Dogwoods, and there are just so so many interesting plants at the Arboretum. It is truly a living museum, with a Herb Garden and a Koi Pond and all kinds of different Perennials and Shrubs, and now we plan to visit there more often and at least once a season. It's the perfect place for a picnic or a leisurely stroll, and best of all it's FREE!

Satsuki Azalea Exhibit and Bonsai Garden







Koi Pond




Mahonia Bealei