Henrick, $20,000 for a design and an installation that would take a month is unrealistic. Twenty grand would likely only cover the rough in (up to the point that heavy machinery would pull out of the site).

A ballpark cost for a top notch residental garden in the West would be about $80.00 per square foot. To put this in a better perspective, a first class Japanese Garden built in Japan would be around $1500.00 per square foot.

Being able to spend that kind of cash definetly does not make the job quick and easy. Keep in mind when somebody starts by telling you it's quick and easy listen to that little voice inside you. Having watched your lovely gate evolve I know you understand this.

BTW. for your roof covering I would consider looking for lightweight metal shingles that look like the ones used for your house, but in a darker color. Also if winter conditions (wind snowload) are to be a problem you could increase its' winter strenght by adding 4 guy wires from the roof corners to the bottom of the posts. Just use clipons and remove them during the summer. Gerald

Henrik -

No matter how interested I might be in training my cat to do tricks, I'd hesitate before buying unseen, via the Internet, a book that promised a quick and easy way to teach my cat to bark.

An Internet search for the name "Frank Kern" produced some curious results though.

I wouldn't buy a book about Japanese gardening unless I'd first found it in a bookstore and flipped through the pages.

Herb

I couldnÂt begin to guess whatÂs in the book, but I love the sales pitch. It reminds me of the television infomercials you see at 3AM. WhereÂs Ron Popeil when we need him?

But WaitÂ. Buy a copy of this book and weÂll throw in two Ginsu knives and a Veg-O-Matic. Only twelve easy payments and your satisfaction is guaranteed!!!

Act Now.

Lol, the 20000 USD was just something I grabbed out of teh blue... I have no idea what the real cost is of making a japanese garden :)

I was mearly trying to tell that the add is rather fishy... and smelly :) And it looks like Herb agrees...

/Henrik

The offer is not that odd: to accept it however, would be very odd indeed.

I think I may have come across this book. It's actually quite a classic..

Jack

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Books and other products promising a garden without much of the 'ing' attached abound. Why should Japanese gardening be different?

Well, from what I ahve read and understood about japanese gardening, it is not something you do on a sunday afternoo, like you would with a classic flowerbed design. There is so much more feeling, technique, understanding of the japanese culture... just when you get those pieces, then you can start making your japanese garden...

Am I right or wrong? If I am wrong, then all I ahve to do is to order some stones, bamboo, gravel, lanterns, a shishi odoshi and a few pines, add them to my garden and voíla I have a japanese garden!! All in one days work :)

/henrik

You are quite right Henrik. Actually articles like bamboo, pines,shishi odashi etc are no more necessary to make a japanese garden than wood is to make an authentic torii. Isamu Noguchi is a good example of this. Gerald

Wow, deja vu. There is a very similar advertisement (for a bonsai book) floating out in the internet (not exactly where) that follows the exact same format as that one. They seem to like recycling phrases, especially the scientific mumbo-jumbo part.

-Audric

$1500 per square foot for a garden built in Japan? Wow! That comes out to $60 million for a one acre garden. Frank Kern is obviously in the wrong business! Kern's book and Gerald's math are both highly suspect.