Japanese garden design: elements, plants and a dry creek

A Japanese garden is not a collection of exotic plants but a particular way of looking at nature: stones, water, moss and trees create a calm landscape that invites you to slow down. Here are the types of Japanese garden, their key elements, how to make a dry creek and which plants suit a Japanese corner in a Ukrainian garden.

Plants for your garden and home are in our potted plants section.

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Types of Japanese garden

• Dry garden (karesansui) — stones and gravel raked into "waves". The best-known example is the garden of Ryōan-ji temple in Kyoto with its 15 stones.
• Hill-and-pond garden — a miniature landscape with a pond, islets and bridges.
• Tea garden — a stepping-stone path to the tea house, lanterns and a stone water basin.
• Moss garden — like the famous Saihō-ji in Kyoto, where dozens of moss species grow.

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Key elements

A Japanese garden is built on asymmetry and natural forms. Stones are placed in groups, usually in odd numbers, and views beyond the plot are often worked into the design — a technique known as borrowed scenery. More about Japan's flower traditions in "Japanese flower traditions".

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How to make a dry creek

• Mark out a winding bed — a creek looks more natural if it narrows and widens.
• Dig a trench 20–40 cm deep and line it with landscape fabric to stop weeds.
• Set large stones along the "banks" and fill the bed with pebbles and fine gravel.
• Add a small bridge or a flat stepping stone.
• Plant moisture- and shade-loving plants along the bed.

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Plants for a Japanese corner

• Trees and shrubs — Japanese and Norway maples, mountain pine, juniper, rhododendrons and azaleas.
• For part shade — hostas, ferns, astilbes, moss.
• By water — Siberian iris and ornamental grasses.
• A spring highlight — ornamental cherry or plum.

Many of them overwinter well in Ukraine — see "Frost-hardy plants for the garden".

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Moss in the garden

Moss grows in shade on moist, acidic soil. To establish it, the area is cleared of weeds, firmed and kept moist. In Ukraine, with its hot, dry summers, moss areas are best created under trees, while low ground-cover plants can replace them in sun.

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Where to see a Japanese garden

In Kyiv there is a Japanese garden in the Hryshko National Botanical Garden — especially beautiful in spring when the cherry trees bloom. Other famous gardens are covered in "The most beautiful gardens in the world".

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FAQ

What is a dry creek?

An imitation of a stream bed made of stones and pebbles — a Japanese garden feature that needs no water.

Which plants suit a Japanese garden in Ukraine?

Maples, mountain pine, juniper, rhododendrons, hostas, ferns and Siberian iris.

Why are stones used in odd numbers?

It is a tradition of Japanese garden art that emphasises naturalness and asymmetry.

Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.

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