The Japanese Garden is harmony with nature through the use of plants, stones and water.  Serenity and peaceful beauty emerge, offering quiet places to meditate and contemplate.

Important aspects:

• Use existing landscape as element (i.e., visually frame with archway)
• Water - ponds, streams, waterfalls (can mimic with rock formation)
• Bridges - slabs of stone, arches
• Stone lanterns
• Stones - used as design element, jutting from water or raked sand garden
• Sand - raked like flowing water or simple straight lines
• Pathway - curve around special features, directing visitor through the garden
• Empty spaces - avoid overcrowding, keep it simple

Suggested Plants:

• Trees - Japanese Maple, gnarled old pines, Flowering Plum
• Shrubs - Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Hydrangeas, Wisteria, Bamboo
• Reeds and grasses