Often gardeners become so enslaved to the work of maintenance and transformation that they neglect the meditative potential of their green space. Worrying over the details, the whole picture is sometimes lost. This is an attitude Herb Gustafson hopes to check in The Art of Japanese Gardens, a beautifully photographed book that creates in the reader a longing for total silence. Photographs of tranquil bridges, bright spidery Japanese maple leaves, and shimmering ponds are accompanied by unpretentious philosophical asides like "Our gardens can become a profound representation of the universe as a whole," and "We must pause to reflect on our journey thus far." Gustafson is not a stickler for historical detail: his notion of a "Japanese" garden is a hybrid of styles, some ancient, some modern. Chapters include "Boundaries," in which a variety of fences, walls, and gates are presented along with accessible descriptions of construction techniques. The third chapter explores that great dreamlike element of the traditional Japanese garden: the constant sound of running water, artificial streams where "we sit and are relaxed by the never-ending flow."

To truly carry out many of Gustafson's projects, the reader needs to be extremely handy, or planning on hiring a professional. It's also an ideal coffee-table book for the urban apartment dweller who needs to be reminded of peaceful spaces every once in a while, even when the "journey thus far" seems like a series of missed connections and splitting headaches. --Emily White


From Booklist
A Japanese garden is, indeed, a thing of beauty and tranquility. Gustafson gives a multitude of ideas and suggestions for creating such a garden, but a rather large lot would be needed--not to mention the expense. In a chapter on boundaries, the author discusses the function of cedar and bamboo fences, safety rails, retaining walls, gates, and tile roofs. In a chapter on rocks, boulders, and stones, he writes about their uses in bridges, walkways, and paths. Water is a large part of Japanese gardens, and Gustafson focuses on its use in ponds, waterfalls, and streams. He suggests having a pavilion or teahouse constructed and offers advice on the use of such garden ornaments as a water basin, rain-catching stones, bronze cranes and deer, stone lanterns, benches, and bridges. There's a chapter on garden design and a list of suitable plants, trees, hedges, vines, and ground covers for the garden. George Cohen


Book Description
“The author discusses the function of cedar and bamboo fences, safety rails, retaining walls, gates, and tile roofs. In a chapter on rocks, boulders, and stones, he writes about their uses in bridges, walkways, and paths. Water is a large part of Japanese gardens, and Gustafson focuses on...ponds, waterfalls, and streams.”—Booklist.



From the back cover
This inspirational guidebook shows how to create the sense of harmony and balance that are so much a part of Zen philosophy.

Learn why every element that goes into the garden has meaning, along with its careful arrangement, and its use of natural and unobtrusive materials (like bamboo). Construct walls, fences, and paths that provide security, beauty, and boundaries to separate and frame various areas. Arrange boulders, stones, and gravel to contrast with smooth-flowing ponds and rushing waterfalls.

No detail goes unexplained--from adding koi and water plants to setting up viewing stations, a teahouse, or a moon-viewing building.

Your garden will be a place of peace, restfulness, and emotional refreshment.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Step into a Japanese garden and you are transported into a magical world of peace, calm, and reflection. Walk along its stone pathways. Pause to admire its peaceful curved bridge, bubbling waterfall, koi pond, stone lanterns, or charming teahouse, and you are as close to Eden as anyone could get. Nothing in this world can compare to its tranquility.

Now, foremost garden expert Herb Gustafson makes it possible for anyone to construct and cultivate a Japanese garden. Inspirational photographs offer a glimpse of the seemingly endless possibilities available. The advice leads you, with care, through the basics behind every design and structure, and reveals the significance behind each -- fences, rocks, water, buildings, and ornaments.

Of all the boundaries we see in the Japanese garden, fences are the most common. They lead us along the paths we take and to the views we observe. Learn how to place unobtrusive fences, walls, gates, and safety rails along the water's edge, by using materials that are natural and delicate -- like cedar or bamboo.

Rocks form the backbone or primary structure of the land. Each boulder, rock, stone, and polished pebble has its natural place in nature's scheme. They are invaluable for building higher ground, and for their use in streams, bridges and walkways, and pathways.

Water supplies the garden's lifeblood. It can lie still in a pond alive with koi and water lilies, or can relax us in the neverending flow of streams lined with eroded boulders. Whether you prefer a reflecting pool, a large, meandering stream, a fastmoving rivulet, or something in between, it's covered here -- along with advice on water plants, koi, and other essentials.

The pavilion is a meeting hall, gathering place, shelter, and symbol of grandeur. Ideas from the Japanese pavilion are presented here to provide a practical, yet suitable, design. Bonus: suggestions for a teachouse and a moon-viewing building -- bright and open by day, and located where the normal path of the moon can be reflected on the water below it at night.