Japanese Garden

Traditional Japanese garden design is simple, natural, and often includes five elements of design: water, stone, bridges, lanterns, and plants. Evergreen plants and those providing Fall color are preferred over flowering plants in this design. The Japanese Garden here in the SWIMGA Display Garden stays true to tradition by incorporating all these elements. Though not always present, water is evoked by a dry creek bed and a leaf shaped basin which both occasionally fill with rainwater. The creek is spanned by a small red bridge, a focal point that is favored by youngsters and photographers alike. The stone ornaments chosen for this garden include a lantern, a pagoda and a Buddha. The garden also features natural stones in the pathway, the creek, a crushed stone bed and accent boulders.  A bamboo screen carries on the Japanese aesthetic and provides a backdrop for the Buddha and lantern.

Evergreens of various hues and shapes are used in this garden including Lemon Thread False Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera), whimsical Anna’s Magic Ball Arborvitae, as well as Leyland Cypress (Cupressocypatis leylandii), Emerald Green Arborvitae, Hetz Midget Arborvitae, Boxwood Koreana (Bucus Microphylla), Blue Star Juniper, and Soft Touch Holly (Ilex).  Peonies, Irises, and Ivory Silk Lilac (Syringa reticulata) were chosen for the limited palette of flowering plants, and a few deciduous trees such as Japanese Maple (Bloodgood Acer Palmatum) and Weeping Cherry round out the garden.  Visitors are invited to sit on the bench and take in the constrained beauty of Japanese design, investigate the variety of evergreens, or be briefly transported to a different place and culture on a short trip down the path and over the bridge.

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