Hi all, I'm looking for any strange, unusual or witty ideas that I could incorporate into my Japanese garden; any abstract plant or rock arrangements, weather predictions (funny/witty ones) or other techniques that would catch the eyes of friends and neighbours. Thanks
Interesting idea, but it strikes me that a Japanese garden is by nature a 'simple' place with relatively few features (as compared to other types of gardens) and most are carefully integrated into a the whole to convey a feeling of peace, harmony, etc. and an unexpected note of humor (much as we appreciate it otherwise) could jar the whole flow of the style, and end up either looking tacky, or just plain out of whack(y). Putting in something 'artistic' that would not confuse the design, but add to it (even if it was unconventional, or not 'Japanese') might work depending... but I'd be really careful. It's not like putting gnomes or flamingos into a busy western style garden.
Study historic japanese gardens, many images online, check out the gardens of Kyoto in particular...it was (is) common to choose a favourite landscape, group of mountains, etc. and abstract the form into groupings of chosen stones; so, you could abstract a local landform/grouping and incorporate it into your garden. Consider sound features, clever water features, or something that makes a natural process more visible. Some japanese gardens are very simple, but some I've seen are extremely detailed...I would avoid concrete pagodas; too obvious and derivative, but that's just my opinion driven by a pet peeve...I like the idea of punctuating the sometimes too uptight style with something subtly ironic: too rigid an adherence to form gets stale sometimes, and results in a thousand back yard 'japanese gardens' that look stale and boring. IMO the core of a 'japanese style garden' is the awareness of local forms, and their harmonious integration; if you can achieve this harmony, it matters very little what you use (that opinion thing again)...
I think the key word should be "atmosphere". While the design of a "Japanese" garden is generally a direction of the flow of vision and movement towards a point of focus, such as a quiet little pool that sits in a cavity of a boulder, the use of serendipitious accents is a subtle art within the vision that is presented. The serendipity is so succinct that its uniqueness is often lost in its affinity to the overall vision at hand! This may be the real challenge of a "Japanese" type garden. I believe I have posted this link here before but here it is again if I am mistaken. This is a "Japanese" style garden in Montreal?? that was constructed entirely by a husband and wife team. They even bought an adjacent lot to their property to create this masterpiece of serenity and intrigue! Enjoy. http://www.clovis-rdf.com/ The site is in French but the images say it all anyway!
