Chinese / Japanese garden help needed

Oh thanks for those replies the advice is great. I am really beginning to have some nice ideas for my garden now. Because it is so big I was thinking I might start with the garden at the front of the house. It is not so big and not so much grass.

So my thoughts were to perhaps but a fence up to block back garden. It will give me time to do it bit by bit. I will do the fencing like that around the rest of garden but instead of a straight fence maybe get a it curved so it will look more oriental. Then plant bamboos in front of it. I would like to have one nice feature tree at the front of the house any suggestions what would look good? and then maybe some small conifers. Perhaps take up all the grass and use the gravel / sand with some rocks like a gravel zen garden, does that make sense?

Can I put the gravel around the trees I grow or do I need to keep the grass? That may sound like a silly question but I am new to this Smile

Polly

Hi Polly,
I'm assuming that being in Ireland, it's rather cold and frosty? Yes?
Firstly, I think before deciding on what plants you put in, find out what plants will actually survive your conditions and make an exhaustive list so that you can draw on them as your garden evolves. There is nothing more dissapointing than spending heaps of money on plants that die. You can create a Japanese feel to any garden, anywhere, by thinking more about what the designers are trying to achieve and prewferably avoiding the cliches that can often accompany replications. I have built 'Zen" gardens in inland, arid' Australia that have used exclusively indigenous plants you would never find in a traditional Japanese garden. The results are successful by looking at the themes involved in replicating nsture rather than a style. This is what Japanese gardens are about (to me at least).

And on vegie/herb gardens, many Chinese and Japanese gardens involved productive areas, (how else would they have eaten 500 years ago?. I don't belive that kitchen gardens need to be separated and hidden from view, subjectively they are as attractive as any other sort of garden. You can create little paths leading from a freeform pond through a cute gate that opens to a herb area, or anything you want, so long as you place the veggie/herb gardens in the best spot for best results, ie. good soil, sunny aspect, not too far from the door.

Good Luck,
Earthworm