Design Toolbox

 The Beauty of Japanese Gardens Why are Japanese gardens so desirable? How do they affect our societies? These and other questions will be explored in this section.

Japanese Gardening Terms is a dynamic list of Japanese gardening terms as used here.

Chaji, Formal Tea Gathering The "Way of Tea" has a major influence on Japanese garden design. Elliot Mitchnick shares his knowledge and experiences in this 5 part description of a formal tea ceremony.  A companion Tea Words reference provides romaji and kanji for common tea terms as well as the English definition.

Japanese Garden Tools 

Japanese Gardening Toolbox Basics Starting with the right Japanese gardening tools can save trouble later. Here are descriptions and reviews plus suggestions for a couple of basic tools.

Care and Feeding of Japanese Garden Tools Once you have a good start on your Japanese gardening toolbox, make sure you keep them in good shape, for you and your plants!

Making a Japanese Tripod Ladder Instructions on building a tripod ladder from oak lumber.

The Bamboo Broom Discover the joy and beauty of the Japanese bamboo broom in this how-to article.

Japanese Garden Plants 

Spring Training of Japanese Black Pine Maintainence of Japanese Black pines in the early spring months, including controlling growth by candle removal.

Fall Care of Japanese Black Pine Fall maintenance and clean-up. This includes needle removal and branch selection.

Japanese Maples - A Celebration of Nature!  Visualize the potential in a Japanese maple and make the best of it's features by observing nature.

Alternatives for Japanese Garden Plants A work in progress. We have started with a list of alternatives for Japanese garden plants suited to hot and dry climates.

Bamboo, Water & Stone

Katsura Bamboo Fences demonstrates how to construct this style of Japanese fence construction. This aticle starts with instructions and photos for the Katsura style fence.

Daimyo Bamboo Fence, or Shogun style fence starts with similar construction as in the Katsura fence.

Kennin-ji Bamboo Fences is created from split culms of green bamboo.

Yotsume-gaki Bamboo Fences are a popular bamboo fence and one of the easiest to build.

Japanese fence knot Want to learn how to tie the knots on a Japanese fence? Start with this video demonstration of an "Oto komusu" knot tied in slow motion.

Building the Tsukubai The special arrangement of chozubai stone basin and "role stones" based on tea ceremony procedures is known as "tsukubai". This article discusses the design, construction and selection of materials for the tsukubai.

Stone Lanterns A feature focusing on types of stone lantern, including history and placement information. There will be regular additions to this resource.

Moving Mountains This article describes the stone-setting process using a wooden tripod and hoist.

Japanese Gardening Forum

Japanese Gardening Forum Japanese gardens and related subjects are discussed in over 6000 entries by a community of enthusiasts from around the world. Forum discussion boards include:

Japanese Gardening Books is a list of books recommended and reviewed by Japanese Gardening Forum members.

Japanese Gardening Forum Gallery contains photographs for the forum and Japanese Gardening Resource.

Japanese Gardening Events Calendar lists events relating to Japanese gardens. This is located in a tab near the top of the Forum index page. Submission are welcome.