Japanese Style
My interest in the Japanese Style evolved out of a desire to comprehend the genius behind the simplicity and abstract interpretation of nature that the Japanese had explored for centuries to such perfection. I am also intrigued how they inscribe Painting, Zen and meditation into their gardens, especially the ancient aesthetic of ‘yugen’, or mystery and depth.
This was my first clumsy experimental venture into building a tea house, using laminated rice paper that is glowing here in candlelight.
The Tea Garden or Roji, which means the ‘dewy path’, is laid out with stepping stones to create an awareness of each step we take. I found these massive slabs in a Welsh farmyard. Here the dusting of cherry blossom adds a sense of welcome and sacred.
Each stone has its own place, its own voice that spoke of where it should lay and each step should follow the next. I added a few precious moss covered rocks to help direct, while the planting is fresh but not overt.
Two of the biggest slabs were saved to make a staggered bridge between two ponds, edged in Japanese Iris and Chinese candelabra primulas. A giant redwood anchors the whole space.
A small Japanese stroll style garden near Ludlow.
the same garden.