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Creating a Japanese Garden: A Step-by-Step Guide to Pond, Dry, Tea, Stroll and Courtyard Gardens: Practical Advice, Projects and Plant Directory, With over 250 Photographs
Design your own Japanese oasis in one of the five classic styles, each brought to life with step-by-step projects.
96 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 18, 2015
This is a practical book with nice photos, which I picked up because I am hoping to turn my evil yard from hell into a lovely Japanese style garden. One nice feature of this book is that the chapters are dedicated to different types of Japanese gardens (pond garden, dry garden, tea garden, stroll garden and courtyard garden), with step-by-step instructions on how to set up stone lanterns, dig your pond, lay out stepping stone and gravel paths, etc. Now I definitely know I want a tea garden with a small pond.
I deducted a star from my rating, however, because of the list of plants to include...all of which are, of course, Japanese. As a graduate of the Illinois master naturalist program, I am very aware of the dangers of including non-native plants in your landscaping. Some are benign (like the humble but hated dandelion), but many others spread like wildfire, crowd out beneficial native species, create habitats for pests, and generally upset your local ecosystem. To name just a few non-native plants wreaking havoc in my area, there is Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese barberry, multiflora rose, garlic mustard, autumn olive, glossy buckthorn, Japanese chaff flower, common teasel, Japanese knotweed, reed canary grass, Japanese stiltgrass, Japanese hop...notice how many of these have "Japanese" in their name? Many of them were established by well-meaning landscapers who just wanted a pretty lawn...but they kept spreading, choked out native wildflowers and habitat for songbirds, beneficial insects, etc., and now--like cockroaches--they are almost impossible to remove. Trying to control them costs taxpayers a pretty penny, too. So let me reiterate: unless you live in Japan, DON'T put Japanese plants in your yard!! Honestly, this is not just my personal opinion, it's a public service announcement!
The thing is, you can create a lovely Japanese-style garden without using a single Japanese species. The general categories of plants the author mentions--ferns, mosses, evergreens, flowering shrubs, autumn foliage--have native equivalents no matter where you live.
With one exception: BAMBOO! The author warns that bamboo is "highly invasive" but still recommends using it. The number one reason I have the yard from hell is due to bamboo. Calling it "highly invasive" is like saying bubonic plague is a "nasty" disease or that heroin is "habit-forming." Basically at this point (the former owners and a neighbor established it), to eliminate it, I need to rent a backhoe to dig up the entire yard, then a ditch-witch to create a trench along the edge of my property, and put in an ultra-thick barrier to keep it from spreading back. Until I do that, I can't plant anything, because the entire yard is criss-crossed with underground runners. If bamboo is native to your ecosystem...then fine, use it. Otherwise, don't be bamboozled into planting any because you WON'T be able to contain it.
Rant over. Whew! In summary: excellent advice for designing a Japanese garden, but completely irresponsible about plant choices.
I deducted a star from my rating, however, because of the list of plants to include...all of which are, of course, Japanese. As a graduate of the Illinois master naturalist program, I am very aware of the dangers of including non-native plants in your landscaping. Some are benign (like the humble but hated dandelion), but many others spread like wildfire, crowd out beneficial native species, create habitats for pests, and generally upset your local ecosystem. To name just a few non-native plants wreaking havoc in my area, there is Japanese honeysuckle, Japanese barberry, multiflora rose, garlic mustard, autumn olive, glossy buckthorn, Japanese chaff flower, common teasel, Japanese knotweed, reed canary grass, Japanese stiltgrass, Japanese hop...notice how many of these have "Japanese" in their name? Many of them were established by well-meaning landscapers who just wanted a pretty lawn...but they kept spreading, choked out native wildflowers and habitat for songbirds, beneficial insects, etc., and now--like cockroaches--they are almost impossible to remove. Trying to control them costs taxpayers a pretty penny, too. So let me reiterate: unless you live in Japan, DON'T put Japanese plants in your yard!! Honestly, this is not just my personal opinion, it's a public service announcement!
The thing is, you can create a lovely Japanese-style garden without using a single Japanese species. The general categories of plants the author mentions--ferns, mosses, evergreens, flowering shrubs, autumn foliage--have native equivalents no matter where you live.
With one exception: BAMBOO! The author warns that bamboo is "highly invasive" but still recommends using it. The number one reason I have the yard from hell is due to bamboo. Calling it "highly invasive" is like saying bubonic plague is a "nasty" disease or that heroin is "habit-forming." Basically at this point (the former owners and a neighbor established it), to eliminate it, I need to rent a backhoe to dig up the entire yard, then a ditch-witch to create a trench along the edge of my property, and put in an ultra-thick barrier to keep it from spreading back. Until I do that, I can't plant anything, because the entire yard is criss-crossed with underground runners. If bamboo is native to your ecosystem...then fine, use it. Otherwise, don't be bamboozled into planting any because you WON'T be able to contain it.
Rant over. Whew! In summary: excellent advice for designing a Japanese garden, but completely irresponsible about plant choices.
October 11, 2020
I live in an apartment so this probably isn't the best book to read... However, I am fascinated by these gardens and this book is good as it covers pond, dry, tea, stroll and courtyard gardens, so no matter how much room you have, can bring a little of japanese into your space.
July 14, 2026
I guess the key here is that the author only promises to create “a” Japanese garden, as in one. There is help for creating only the one design for each type of garden rather than support for creating your own garden in the Japanese style.
A very basic book if you want to follow a plan.
A very basic book if you want to follow a plan.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews