Our gardens
The Japanese Garden
Unfortunately I have never been to Japan, which means the design is based upon study from afar and visits to Japanese gardens in USA, UK, Germany and Sweden. The site has previously been used for composting all our waste products which is an important aspect of the garden but not ideally placed by one of the two main entrances. (Windmill entrance). We needed a garden here that would create a good first impression horticulturally as well as contrasting strongly against the traditional park alongside. We felt the need to change “park behaviour” to “garden behaviour”, not an easy task but a challenge like any other.
The garden is based upon Zen Buddhism and Modernism and consists of a sea of black granite, warikuri-ishi. We found these stones in a quarry two hours drive away, near Osby.
These stones are a metaphor for water. The largest are waves breaking with the smallest stones furthest in representing perhaps calmer water. The concept of tachidomaru, to stop, pause and look back reveals changes along the route through the garden that would otherwise go unnoticed.
The water is divided by a path of Sibirian Larch.
Plants in the Japanese garden:
- Phyllostachys nigra.
- Phyllostachys bissetti.
- Acer palmatum.
- Kornus kousa.
- Ilex crenata.
- Pachysandra terminalis.
- Luzula sylvatica.