Japanese Gardens - Basic Design Questions That Should Be
By Rose Smith, Fri Dec 9th

As westerners, we are often compelled to try to control and planall design aspects of what we want when constructing something.We try to anticipate every little detail so we don't make amistake. Although you will still need to organize and draw outyour Japanese garden design, plus determine the shape of yourlandscape and what you desire for your garden, you should alsoallow yourself to "go with the flow" and let it "speak to you"as your garden takes shape. In other words, allow forimprovisation and ideas to emerge rather than being rigid insticking to your original design plan.

Before any work begins within the yard itself, a basic gardenplan should be drawn up to help you formulate your ideas and theplacement of elements. There are several questions you need toaddress to help with this process:

1) Do you already have an existing garden in the area where youwish to incorporate a Japanese garden style? If so, what type ofgarden is it (flower garden, English garden, rustic wildflowergarden, etc.)?

2) Will you be able to integrate your current garden into thenew Japanese garden plan? What aspects and features will remainand what will have to be moved, replaced or removed entirely?

3) What style of Japanese garden are you most interested in -tea garden, courtyard garden, stroll garden, pond and islandgarden, Zen rock garden or a combination of two or more? Forvery small areas, you will most likely stick to only one style.For those that have a large landscape, you can have your choiceof any of the styles to suit your desires and landscape area.

4) How large is the area of the site that you are consideringusing? Does it have natural

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