Great photos Herb,

Gardening, like bonsai is that easy aye, the power of time

Gerald

Hi Herb!

I was so happy to see the pictures, I have some similar dry water fall in my garden, no wonder, Hiro , a very talented gardener helped me to make it. I can't post pictures, but I will email to you, if you think that it is wort to compare, could you post it to this link , please? Thanks!I am looking forward to see more of your interesting postings.

Have a wonderful Christmas and Happy Nem Year!

Andrea

Sorry, I forgot to say ,that mine is VERY-VERY small scale compared to above garden .
Andrea

Andrea - Done! It's in the Gallery, headed 'Andrea's developing garden'.

THANKS HERB, FOR YOUR HELP!!! I knew that I can count on you!! By the way, where is the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific?
Andrea

Andrea - The HCP's just at the northern edge of Victoria, on Quayle Road. Herb

Very interesting!! I really like those pictures. Its unbelivable what a little moss and stone can do ;) I will definetly add more moss to my flowerbeds... right now I have only dark dirt :(

/Henrik

Nice garden, Herb... I'd like to see it again after the plantings are naturalised etc

"Its unbelivable what a little moss and stone can do ;) I will definetly add more moss to my flowerbeds..."

Ahem... Simply adding moss to your flowerbeds will only make them look like moss which grows in 'flowerbeds', Henrik ;)

On the other hand, familiarising yourself with the guidelines for creating Shukkei (condensed mountain scenery) will go a long way to creating any illusion you choose - from a misty mountain gorge, to a calm pebbly beach...

There a two books I would recommend. The first specifically deals with the arbitrary rock shapes and how to group them effectively to create this visual 'short-hand'. I think of this book as the 'Rosetta Stone' (tee hee) for Westerners trying to make sense of the fundamentals of rock placement within the Japanese idiom

*Japanese Stone Gardens by Kazuhiko Fukuda

...and a perennial favourite:

*Magic of Trees and Stones by K Saito and S Wada

Sadly both out of print - but this is a good place to look for used copies http://www.bookfinder.com/

A Happy Festivus to everyone (that's pretty inclusive, I think - practising; non-practising; opera loving; vegetarians etc) :))

Cheers
Jack

A few postings below MAGIC OF TREES & STONES are more help to find the book, I orderd and received mine for Christmas.
Andrea