The good news is that IÂm going to be moving up from my 50 sq. ft. balcony garden to an approximately 144 sq foot back-of-the-condo courtyard garden (moving up a zone to 8b, more space, more sun, real dirt, a hose bib and a drain right there at hand, and *no* weight limit short of soil compaction: Yippee! :)

The bad news is that the garden must continue to serve as the primary site for a 70 lb Doberman to relieve himself. (ItÂs my sisterÂs condo, which I will be sharing with her; and her dog, whose eventual détente with my cat will be another problem to solve upon moving :)

This puts me in mind of the adjustments and compromises needed to create something like a traditional Japanese garden in our modern, non-traditionally Japanese, western homes and lives. I can envision the curving stretch of white-gray gravel, the $6,000 moss-covered Kasuga lantern, the sevenÂto-nine largish rocks and the five-to-seven ferns surrounded by the mossy earth that would be perfect in this courtyard, but that ainÂt whatÂs gonna happen.

Fido would cause discoloration of the white gravel, $6,000 anything is not an option, and neither Sis nor I have the health and strength to go around placing large rocks with impunity (the ferns, however, are quite do-able and will probably happen:)

My initial plan is to arrange everything from my existing balcony garden still in its containers such that they should be mostly safe from canine depredations; and to start removing the less attractive bits and encouraging the more attractive bits of the ground-coveresque weedy stuff already growing there. Meanwhile, I'll observe both the dog and the sun to see which parts of the courtyard they get to.

Eventually I think IÂd like to put a raised bed along the back (south) wall of the garden, with some kind of elegantly s-curved wall facing the condo, leaving about half the unpaved space at ground level in doggie-durable groundcover. Ferns, some rocks, a small tree or two, and the flowering plants an undisciplined American canÂt entirely resist, would go into in the raised bed.

Thoughts? Ideas?

What compromises do others find themselves making between traditional Japanese gardening and Life As We Know It?

- Evelyn

[FWIW: The condo is in Edmonds, WA, just north of Seattle and 3 mi from Puget Sound: definite maritime influence (USDA zone 8b; Sunset 5)

The courtyard is approx. 12 x 12 ft, with condo building on north, 6 ft. wooden fence on south, east & west (IÂm hoping the blacktop parking lot on the other side of the south fence will yield a little extra warmth). North, condo-adjacent half is paved in concrete with exposed aggregate. A sliding glass door opens onto courtyard from kitchen/dining area.]