Plant some bamboo. Might look nice with Yellow Groove bamboo which does good in cold temperatures. (I live in Cleveland Ohio, and have a yellow groove bamboo grove)Also what about a Japanese black pine? Maybe a weeping wisteria. What about a small sitting bench that looks oriental. Your yard is very pretty.
Christine

hello mzkrista,could you send me some pictures of the yellow groove bamboo and the wisteria.i have looked in toronto,canada nurseries and i never heard about the first plant.in the future i am planning to built a lower deck and some seats.but i still need to enclosure the chainlink fence at the back of my backyard.any other suggestions?

will be glad to hear more

thansk

You can get the bamboo I was talking about in Canada at Canada's bamboo world www.bambooworld.com It is also called Phyllostachys aureosulcata (Yellow Grove Bamboo) I cant believe that a nursery has never heard of Yellow groove bamboo, it sounds like they aren't knowledgeable. Wisteria everyone knows about. Google wisteria and you'll find more info on it. You can also google yellow groove bamboo. I dont have any pics of it sorry. Krista

I think your garden looks nice but if you want to make it look closer to a Japanese Garden I would start with changing the rocks. They look unbalanced. There are too many medium sized rocks and not enough large or small ones. I think the ratio is 1 small 2 medium 1 large. Also when creating a dry stream bed, you need more large rocks in the middle and not on the side. As in nature, larger rocks are typically in the middle where the current is the strongest and washes the smaller ones to the side. I would also partially bury the rocks. It makes them look like they have been there longer. Lastly about the rocks, you may have too many.

There is also a lack of vertical elements.

I have a hard time finding a focal point. This may be because of where the picture was taken. But you may want to sit on your deck and decide a focal point from there and build your garden around that focal point. A nice rock, pond, etc can be the focal point.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Try these links for more information on Bamboo and obtaining it. It's a fascinating plant/grass with many varieties and but two major growth habits - clumping and running - the runners can be very invasive and need to be planted with a barrier around the planting to contain them.

http://www.newengbamboo.com/
http://www.americanbamboo.org/

Cheers!

One thing that I would suggest is maybe a darker brown gravel around the stones. All of the stones are a bright gray. Mass stones and inset them into the ground as if they've been there a very long time. Maybe haul some really large mossy boulders in.

I think you need something large in scale or grand for a focal point. There seems to be a lot of smaller scale elements. Height and mass.

Can you create a large expanse in an area, without filling all areas with something? I think it needs to be quieted down.

Misierra, my garden is japanese inspired as well. I agree with the stone comment above, but I'd add more plants and foliage. But that's me. It's what pleases your eye that matters.

I also agree you need a focal point. For me, it's a wood bridge. I'm being careful to selectively add statuary, so I keep it calm and simple. I also think I need to add massive groupings of plants and repeat some themes to retain the calmness I have now. Perhaps this might help you as well.

Here's the bridge.

In the foreground are Lady Ferns and various lilies and a laceleaf Japanese Maple. Flanking the bridge are Siberian Iris and 'Sum and Substance' Hostas. Beyond the bridge on either side of the dry river bed are Pachysandra 'green sheen' and Lamium 'pink pewter' respectively. At the far end of the dry river bed is a bed of hostas, heucheras, pulmonaria, astilbe and a peach daylily.

The same look could be achieved with mounding sun loving shrubs and evergreens. Hope my pix help give you some ideas! Or not!

Good luck and most of all, have fun creating!

I think you are lacking a focal point too but I'm honestly not the right person to give you advice on that. I think you need a place to sit and reflect or meditate, perhaps a small bench of some kind. I also think you need some more plants. You need something to screen off the chainlink fence and create a sanctuary, privacy, rather than be so open to the street. About the rocks, streams have round and smooth rocks rather than sharp edged ones. I think the sharp edged ones would make a great dry stack wall. I agree you should get some more large and medium sized rocks, there's too much of the same size. I also agree you should bury them partially. finally, I think you'll have to wait some for your young trees to fill in. I think you'll have a better feeling for the garden when it fills in and becomes more of a private sanctury.
Best of luck!
G.O.

misierra

I don't know about the rock geometry and color and bamboo suggestion. Just change the grass into moss or sun tolerant moss-like variety on top of berms or mounds. Finally changed the fence to something more appropriate. Anyone here been to Karma Place up in Edison, WA? This thing might look like that

Here is a link that might be useful: Fence Idea

I think it looks nice. It's easy for people to say you need bigger rocks, but that is not always practical, especially in a city. I live in the country on Vancouver Island and I can get a dump truck full of 5 foot wide boulders for $300, but it takes an excavator to place them and requires a lot of room. I also wouldn't worry about a lot more plants. Obviously the garden is young, and you have some trees (maples...) that will be appropriate and beautiful when mature. My only idea would be an evergreen barrier (bamboo maybe.. or cedar) along the chain link fence on the right and possibly some kind of Asian style pergola in the rear left as a destination. But take your time and enjoy. You have a great space there.

I like it also. I would also suggest incorperating the area under the deck somehow. Also , what are those horizontal pieces on the right that seem to be holding up the rock work ? If these could be replaced withing something more appropriate like wood , they could add color and texture.