Low-Maintenance Japanese Landscape Design

Types

• One of the key features of a Japanese garden is the blending of different elements, such as rocks, ornaments, low-maintenance plants, sand and water features. Most Japanese gardens include different textures and color schemes that give them an overall soothing ambiance. Using moss as ground-cover, winding paths with large stones, lanterns and hardy plants can create a beautiful garden in even a limited space. Several kinds of Japanese gardens are low-maintenance and ecologically friendly.

Tea Garden

• Tea gardens are a classic Japanese garden design dating to the 17th century and incorporating various thresholds. Best suited for a small enclosure and traditionally serving as a preparatory area to a tea house, a tea garden is full of gates, lanterns and benches, and it includes a water basin. Plants should be chosen carefully, and the use of flowering plants is limited. Stick to shrubs and trees that don't require much attention and offer variation to the structural elements.

Courtyard Garden

• If you have a small space, a Japanese courtyard garden may be the perfect design to use. Centered around stone arrangements, paving, lanterns and stepping stones, a courtyard garden is extremely low-maintenance. Referred to as "tsuboniwa" in Japan, a courtyard garden is constructed carefully with a minimalist approach. The garden typically is enclosed with various structures and receives little to no light.

Waterless Rock and Sand Garden

• One of the most popular Japanese garden designs, the waterless rock and sand garden is referred to as "karesansui," Japanese rock garden, dry landscape garden and zen garden. The goal of this type of garden design is to use gravel, sand and rocks in an artistic and aesthetically pleasing manner to represent water. Sometimes, limited plant life, such as moss, is used. Waterless rock and sand gardens typically are reliant upon symbolism. For example, rocks signify mountains.