Japanese Garden Design: The Practical Use of Stones and Boulders
There is a variety of elements used throughout a Japanese garden, but the three most important and basic ones that you will find in every garden design are: rocks, plants and water features. In this article, we are going to focus on rocks, a very visible and useful Japanese garden element that has many viable and practical applications, along with its aesthetic qualities.
1) Large boulders can block unsightly views. For example, perhaps your water hoses and water connection are near an area of your garden and you don’t want it visible to visitors. A large boulder and complimentary bush would hide the out-of-place items, yet allow you access to use them as needed.
2) Interesting rocks can be placed where plants are hard to grow. Sometimes you will find one particular area in your garden where plants just don’t seem to do well, no matter what you plant or what you do to the soil. Maybe it’s too wet or maybe it’s too clay based. Whatever the problem, a nice rock arrangement might do the trick.
3) Use rocks to enhance a water feature. Place near ponds to make the...