/Henrik,...
this same advice applies to your pond (which should have about 60% of the stone removed, btw),..
any, any garden design in the plot plan view has very little to no meaning in Japanese garden design.
Go to elevation. Since the design of a garden is top down, sky to trees/green/where, whatever sky meets and wherever the 'main view' is of. The axis lines are all important.
If sky does not meet anything within the 50 degree up from horizontal then it becomes a tsubo garden with slightly different patterns that make it personal and intimate, spatial dimension 1 height : 1 width, and reducing one dimension to accommodate 'x' people.
hope this helps.. try offering an elevation or side view/front view. Much later, before building, or only after, the plot plan is done to know how large things will be for what costing/materials.
edzard

I see...well thats what im having problems with for the flowerbed/whatever at the top... since its so thin-stretched its hard to do something useful with it. In the other flowerbed towards the street I have a good insight of what I want to do... mountains, forrest etc. I think its because of the shape of that bed that made it easier.

And... my main concern... the edging between lawn and flowerbed. In traditional gardens you cut with a tool to make a nice clean edge where the lawn stops and the dirt begins. But thats really difficult with japanese gardens... because of the "natural" look im trying to achieve. Anyone with experience on how I should handle the transition lawn->flowerbed?

Please keep in mind that Im not trying to make the garden using all rules and guidelines in the Sakuteiki... its an attempt to add some carefully arranged scenery in a western environment.

If this would have been a flower garden, the design would be really easy... flowerbeds, carefully arranged flowers all very symmetrical. Im really trying (perhaps without luck) to move away from that symmeterical thinking into the art of japanese gardens.

Granted, I ahve read lots of books in teh subject, but its not util you start experimenting like I do now... then you get an idea how it really should be done.

/Henrik

/Henrik,...
I'm not referring to the Sakuteiki in any way shape or form. I'm referring to landscape design. Japanese garden is simply 'good landscape design'. Symmetry is also used in Japanese gardens when it is needed in the design. The design is done to achieve a desired result.

for example: If you turn your design into elevation and when trees mature, you will note that the inclination of people will be to go to the back door. Perhaps this is desired. Then your design is good.
If you do not want strange people to go to the back door removing your privacy, then you need to fix the design of the front walk to attract more attention, so that they are encouraged to walk to the front door first, the back door second.

In turn the pattern of walking to the front door may be direct. Or it may be layered so that it seems longer. Or covered to seem more intimate. Or more grand to impress people, or,... what do you want people to feel when coming to the door?
Without this decision, the design is meaningless.

The transition between flowerbed and lawn would be solved when the elevation is drawn. You will notice that you have a western garden with Japanese things in it (lantern) Having a lantern does not make it more Japanese, it just adds a Japanese thing.

In your design, why would you have lawn?
Why not a complete woodland that is walked through to the front door, or with a pathway through the woods to get around to the back of the house?
Light 9cm thick 5m trees with dappling shade leaning gently together to envelope the walker. Deciduous for winter warm and summer cool shade. Flowers and mosses planted beneath the trees, from orchids to creeping vines. Shrubs to block a view and shelter sudden beautiful surprise specimens of fritillaria, etc. Snowdrops on outside areas...

yes, to fit in with the neighborhood, probably a lawn is needed, Fine, design a lawn to keep the neighbors happy.
However what will it be when you are too old to mow the lawn? Eventually it could be a self maintaining woodland.
Tree's provide shade and use water that is needed for the lawn. The lawn will die. Then something else must be planted or the trees cut down.

Instead of spending time on edging, think through what the lifespan and life changes the space will go through and how this impacts your life with maintenance. Think how much heat you can gain from the sunken stone for species, think how much is lost from aggressive trees. Perhaps use alders that always grow thin.
this is a traditional woodland garden.
Japanese terms it would be a garden that evokes a feeling to humans that provides beauty and ease. This feeling would be accomplished by, "framing with tree trunks". This is the technique of designing a woodland garden,.. that of 'what are you framing'? the house? the flowers? the shrubs? the garage? (as now, you are framing the garage as though it is the most important thing to see.... perhaps it is. This is not for me to judge, but this is what you are saying to anyone that walks up the walk)

Edging is done in many ways. Roof tile, bricks, stone, small random stone wall, logs,.. anything that works and continues the longterm thought of the area. Think of the area, the theme, what it is, what it will be. Stop thinking that piled stone is the solution to the Japanese garden. Think rather that the woodland or place was there first, the house came last.

For an example, turn your plotplan as it is into an elevation drawing. Take a photo, turn it into black and white then start with tracing paper, or as Herb does, jpeg form and add pieces in scale. Color is deceiving and we are programmed to be attracted to it, or warned by it. Black and white shows the reflective quality of the leaf textures.

Having mountains forest on the street side indicates that the house is in an ocean. Perhaps you like this.
For me this is backwards. The house is a mountain, the next part of the journey is the hills and woodlands, the road is a river, lake or ocean.
This is why the flowerbed at the top does not work.

The train post is good, as you should think in what terms of miniatruization the __site needs, what scale 1/34, 1/25, 1/100,.. not what __you think it should be. What is indicated by the relationship of the house to the site, and what its needs are.

tackle the larger problem first, do the elevation side view, then the rest will fall into place.
annoying aren't I... :)
not meaning to be, rather think of it as refreshingly blunt.
Japanese gardening is a solution, not a design choice of style like fitting furniture against the wall.
edzard

Henrik;

Edzard has some excellent points. Just using top views to design a garden are kinda misleading as your guests will be viewing your garden from eye level. Also, defining what you "want it to do" is very important. When you start with the bigger picture, the little stuff (like edging) becomes easier.

For example, let the lawn signify "the sea". Then edging options become easy. Think fjords and inlets. Take a nice drive to the ocean on one of those roads that winds around the shore. Take pictures, smell the ocean, feel the breeze. Go home with these recollections. Start placing stones (the big pointy kind first, smaller pointy ones after, maybe fill in with a smooth stone or two). Try to mimic what you felt. If you are trying to reflect nature, there will not be a lot of 90 degree angles and straight lines.

Where I live, I see a lot of driftwood on the beaches. If I was trying to mimic a shoreline, then I would incorporate some nice weathered wood here and there. Not too much..... just a branch here or there.

Think of your design as you writing a book. Start with a plot, try to figure out how you want it to start and how you want it to end and then all the other stuff falls into place. A few plot twists, a double cross or too, a flaming car chase and you getting the girl in the end.

Michael

Michael,.. about the getting the girl part.. we better check if a) he has a wife?,.. b) with his wife?
otherwise there may be a flaming car as an addendum to the plotline.
---hmm, Zone 1,... I would propose planting a Bergian Flame maple by the curb, for the car part,.. no?
beyond the difficulty of obtaining material for a Zone 1, I would also sympathize with him for the date of his birthday...
... it is all with a light heart and a smile /Henrik...
edzard

Hey you wall ;)

You have very good points and interesting ideas! I think it is time I showed you what I have to work with... and then perhaps we can continue the discussion from there okay ;)

Here the first viewpoint that people get when they are sitting at the wood-deck and looking at South East...

{{gwi:1006618}}>

The wood pile you can see at the back is my neighbours... so you might consider that side an "unwanted view". And all the trees in the background are mine, but there is a high unusable slope down to that forrest.

The next picture is the driveway, garage. I think you recognize it from the sketch.

{{gwi:1006621}}

As you can see, there is really not much added. But I want to create a welcomed feeling because between the house and garage, I will add a japanese gate... to alllow the viewers to get a glimpse of the garden in the back...

And here is the main pathway leading to the main door of my house... Please, any and all suggestions you ahve to soften it up, make it "inviting". Im thinking some round plants... but perhaps someone here can provide "hints"?

{{gwi:1006624}}

As you can see... it really need some rocks and plants to soften it up.... right now it is so boring I can't stand it... You can see a small flowerbed I added to the right.. near the house.

Well, I hope these pictures give you a better idea of what im facing ;) And and all comments would be greatly appreciated.... your help and ideas are invaluable.

/Henrik

/Henrik,..
do you have a photo of the whole? The garage, space, then house front, including sky and the front entrance?
a 90 degree entrance to the hous is not a desirable 'soft' direction. It is very 'hard' / formal. To fix what you have needs more of an explanation of what you wish for.
others...
edzard

Thanks for the comments! ABout the path... well the distance to the street was onl about 2 meters, so it was hard to make a soft path.. :( This is what I have to work with.... As soon as the weather is improving I will take a photo of the whole house and front garden. I'll be back ;)

/Henrik

/Henrik, most often it is recommended that a path have a 60degree to 30 degree angle coming off the street to 'soften' the direct confrontational entrance dilema. This L shape is more formal when aligned at common angles and relaxed at unrecognizable angles,.. as well this adds depth. It is still straight edged for 'front,main entrance messaging', and has a runoff trench down the length for leaves etc. to collect in for cleaning.

Irregardless of the photo's or the walk, you will need to strip away the sod and put in a load or two of top soil. Whether to achieve a flat surface to the grade of the brickwork or to create hills and soft berms to compensate for the (now) harsh lines of the house emphasized by the strong local color pattern.

Again, new pictures or not, since you have not indicated what you wish, this does not allow for comment.

The porch becomes the entrancing problem by being smaller than the walkway. It constricts at the steps giving an uneasy feeling. If the brickwork was in line with the steps, then it would have given an opening feeling at the porch.
edzard

Edzard.... you are really providing me with invaluable help and thoughts here. Since Im a newbie and very unclear of what it is I want (hehe, you noticed right )perhaps you want to explain further what you mean by this:

"Irregardless of the photo's or the walk, you will need to strip away the sod and put in a load or two of top soil. Whether to achieve a flat surface to the grade of the brickwork or to create hills and soft berms to compensate for the (now) harsh lines of the house emphasized by the
strong local color pattern.

Again, new pictures or not, since you have not indicated what you wish, this does not allow for comment. "

If I interpret your comments correctly... the lawn should be stripped away, adding dirt and then create a hilly landscape? I have given this some tought... and I really want to leave some lawn in the middle, to act as a path between the porch and the driveway, but I want to create flowerbeds with rounded hilly surfaces around that. This can really help on the harsh and bulky look from the bricks.

thanks..we are getting somewhere ;)
/Henrik

What did you get for Christmas edzard?
Whatever you got I consider the advice written above to be a gift, thank you, You may have to wait awhile for the reciprocal but I consider what you have written above and on Herbs zen thread, where you finally open up on your feelings regarding 'style', more valuable than anything Santa Claus brought me.

Today I got an inspiration... I started thinking about what it is I want to show... and I came to the following conclusion

{{gwi:1006627}}

As you can see I have placed a bench at the position of the difficult flowerbed... I felt it is a nice place to sit and rest, and you also get a good view of the small garden, and you are protected from looks from the street. And on both sides of yourself, you have wonderful plants and shrubs.

At the "garden" itself... I wanted to arrange a small landscape. The rocls I placed are tall edgy mountain like rocks... (I have no idea where I will find them) They will represent mountains. As you can see I have two mountains. And by the right one, I have added a stone with 100 % moss, to resemble a forrest far up in the hills... completly green, no details. And next to the hill, I ahve a small "lake" which is surrounded by smaller grass, and plants... as well as smaller stones... it will represent the lake at teh bottom of the hill... and on both sides of this garden I have low vegetation... some grass, hosta and ferns.

The red curvy "snake" I have painted in the lawn is a topography sketch of how it will look from the viewpoint/the side... Two hills... with three valleys.

This landscape will look nice no matter from where you look at it.. from the bench, from the street....

/Henrik

-you're not answering the question.
what do you want the feeling to be?

hehe didn't I??? ;) The feeling.. hmmm.. I guess you can call it "relaxed".. since I have placed a wooden bench there I want both the people inside the garde as well as those walking past... to stop for a moment.. and to look at the flowerbed, the rocks, the moss,the small water element... to dream away from the busy life and feel relaxed by observing my miniature landscape... Perhaps my friends are waiting for me to come home.. then they can sit down and wait for me at the bench (positioned below the kitchen windows.

I also want people looking out from the kitchen window to look at the arrangement to feel relaxed... The whole arrangement should make the mind calm... these shouldn't be any elements that stresses the mind... there should be symmetry in the placement of the rocks, the boss and the shrubs and trees...

is this a qualifying answer?

thanks/Henrik

yes,..
then: the arrangement of the front walk needs to be adjusted because it causes a formal aspect. It is far far to powerful an image to associate with relaxing or waiting.

Therefore I would suggest that it be redesigned.

Then, only then is it worthwhile to consider the other needs as this will change the dynamics of the space.

I suspect that since you wish a gate through which one sees the garden in back and that people stop in the front, that you are doing this to impress passersby rather than to feel personally relaxing.
I also observe that you have decided that the front yard should do the function of what a backyard is normally to do. And that this is made possible by the enclosed intimacy that the walls of the house and the brickwork allow... enclosure, which is not available in the back yard.
And this opportunity allows you to avoid the function of the front area, since you do not include the front entrance in your garden plot plan. Also that you plan the views from outside to inside rather than from inside to outside, irregardless of where North is to support what you design.
Design is top down, solution.

If you are going to spend money or invest time, why would you spend it for others rather than to please yourself?

How much maintenance would you like in 10 years? hours of work or money spent for someone? What budget?
How long will you be in that house?

I scale the front area depth, street to house at 6m maximum. Is this correct?
What is the width from driveway to walkway.
What trees are in the back forest? what species
(pine, and spruce I see, what else are the deciduous??)(which pine?)

for others,.. please be involved,..
how would could the front walkway be relaxed to accommodate /Henriks relaxed atmosphere that would incline people to wait for him...?

I would appreciate other peoples input...
edzard

Mmmmm zone 1 ? colder than Alaska ? Colder than Albert Cannda? You must have lo't of bottle of vodka as first aid........
Home is very prety. If I own the house, I ask to Cady what color of flower she like to have. make some flower bed for seasonal color. keep front yard relatively simple, clean, neat, easy to maintain. not so much deffrent from neighbors.
Japanese garden is facing toward woods, don't have to see strong color of red and Ivory. That is good. desgin to bring view into woods. hide view of neighbor. use hedge or fence to define J garden are.

Install low bench to edge of deck for safty and provide extra seating. arrange potted plants or make small wooden planter between seat.
out side of fence or hedge place boulder to connect to lawn and give feeling of width and flow.

By the way, check left side of entrance footing footing. It is a little bit off from center.....mike

I'll take a shot at this... just from front door/entranceway as IMHO this needs to be figured out first B4 changing anything in the landscape.

For the path, get rid of the bricks, consider stepping stones in a kinda S-curve. The short run may prohibit this though. So consider the path starting nearer towards the driveway (or even turning it a full 90 degrees and have it start from the driveway).

As Edzard has pointed out prior, the small porch chokes things up a bit. Double the size at least, so people want to go there. Lose the steps. If you got the cash, get a big hunk of granite as a transition to the porch . If not cast in place with concrete.

Unless you have to have it (builder's code) consider getting rid of the handrails or if you gotta have them, use a stained wood rather than white.

In short, you want your entranceway to stand out but not be too formal. You want it to be inviting. You want the person coming up to your front door not think they are looking into a tunnel.

That's all I got. Hope it helps.....

Michael