_{Large, flat stones are used as small bridges (MMGI / MARIANNE MAJERUS)}

These other gardens being admired are not Zen gardens but possibly dry
landscape gardens or courtyard gardens designed to give a relaxing, calm and
comforting feel to the often tiny but intricate spaces around the ryokan.
They have a few serene plants, often carefully pruned and shaped, pillows of
mosses and maybe water, and the composition of rocks, pebbles and gravel is
considered and ordered.

The whole surroundings of these inns are intensely soothing. As soon as you
enter you feel you have arrived in a different, highly restful world. You
can glimpse different views of parts of various mini green gardens from
inside to captivate you further. The contrast is heightened when you compare
the soothing, cool inn with the jostling, hot streets just a few steps away.
Many of these gardens are just a few square metres in size.

When the Japanese design a dry landscape garden they will usually start with
the stones and rocks. Today these cannot be simply purloined from the wild,
and they are usually recycled or reclaimed from elsewhere. The shape, size
and colour of these raw materials will dictate the way the garden develops,
and they will be arranged according to the fundamental concept of Japanese
gardens to create the feeling of a landscape. The rocks may symbolise land
or an island, other carefully selected stones may be positioned skilfully to
represent a waterfall, and smoothly raked gravel designed to represent the
sea, broad river or lake surrounding it.

The plants are then chosen to accompany the hard landscape; for instance
irises may be planted on the “banks” of the water. The growing material
comes in as a secondary stage.

In Yoko’s parents’ garden a stone represents Mount Fuji; there is also a tree
that is carefully pruned twice a year. This is a specialised job for
professionals and is expensive. Many trees are regularly shaped (there are
different styles of pruning, with Japanese names) not just to maintain them
to the confines of these often restricted spaces but to bring out the beauty
of the tree, and to show off its trunk and branch structure. If you cannot
afford this high maintenance, you leave out the tree. Yoko now lives in
Cardiff with her British husband; she prefers the trees pruned, he likes
them natural.

_{Parts of the garden are kept hidden from view (MMGI / MARIANNE MAJERUS)}

Three common elements that we Britons put into our “Japanese” gardens are
tea-houses, red lacquered bridges and stepping stones. Often our tea-houses
are too high and narrow. Proportions are cultural, though: the authentic
tea-houses are raised off the ground, so you view the garden from your knees
while you drink your tea. They are broad and lower than the proportions we
use. Our buildings are often used as focal points, whereas in Japan you come
across them, carefully placed in partial view initially, discreet and then
slowly revealed. Our red bridges pop up in quite small plots here. In Japan
they will only feature in quite large gardens – such as “stroll” gardens,
which started as aristocratic gardens in the 18th and 19th centuries – where
they may be used to cross a ravine. These gardens are designed to be walked
around, enabling you to admire a series of framed views, and you can stand
back and glimpse the bridge from various cleverly sited points. In a smaller
space, a simple, large flat stone would be used to get over water, real or
imaginary, wet or dry.

Stepping stones always lead somewhere in Japanese gardens. Yoko remembers
visiting a “Japanese” garden in Liverpool and the stepping stones ended up
at a herbaceous border; she was puzzled. “Are we meant to walk through
this?” she wondered.

The planting in traditional Japanese gardens is much calmer than we are used
to and the palette is more restricted. Camellias, azaleas, Prunus mume
(Japanese apricot) with its intense pink or white blossoms around February
or March, cydonias and cherries are popular, but on the whole there is less
colour and more foliage, giving that restful, verdant feel.

Japanese gardens favour blank space, with carefully raked gravel or sheets of
moss and occasional plants. Part of this is that it is thought to make the
garden look more spacious. When you are working with a plot just three
metres by five metres or smaller, which is the size of many courtyard or dry
gravel gardens, this is important.

_{Stone features are used inside pavilions (MMGI / MARIANNE MAJERUS)}

There are many situations here, such as roof gardens, tiny low-maintenance
spaces and basement gardens, where features of a Japanese garden would work
brilliantly. So how to approach the design? Yoko recommends adding Japanese
elements. Many Japanese people now love roses and other plants that give
colour, herbaceous plants especially. Yoko has added peonies to hers, but
she has used them in a more Japanese way by positioning them near her shed,
so she cannot see them from her kitchen but “discovers” them when she pops
down the path to her garden building. The winding path, too, with its curvy
route rather than going directly from A to B, is more Japanese. And does it
have lots of empty space to make it look larger? “Oh no. I am quite
undisciplined – I just like to cram lots in!” she says.

Modern gardens are changing in Japan, too. Previously, gardens were often
designed to be viewed (or walked through on certain routes) and not
physically used. But now they are starting to eat, sleep and entertain in
their gardens as we do.

It seems that quite a lot of British influence has rubbed off on Yoko, too.
“The point of a garden is to have it so you enjoy it and it makes you
happy,” she says.

*’Japanese Zen Gardens’ (Frances Lincoln, RRP £30) and ‘Serene Gardens:
Creating Japanese Design and Detail in the Western Garden’ (New Holland,
RRP £12.99), both by Yoko Kawaguchi, are available from Telegraph Books at
£26 and £11.99 respectively, plus £1.35 p+p (0844 871 1514; books.telegraph.co.uk)

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AUGUSTA — For gardeners and homeowners looking to improve their properties, there is no better place to be inspired than the 18th annual Springfest Garden Show, March 13 to 16, at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta.

The custom glass Springfest Conservatory encloses a sun-filled space blooming with garden exhibits. The building, a gift to the Fairgrounds from Bev and Bruce Gordon of Sussex County, houses what has been proclaimed “New Jersey’s finest flower and garden show” (Star Ledger). Springfest, a non-profit show produced by garden-lovers for garden-lovers, hosts more than 8000 visitors from the tri-state area. Proceeds benefit the promotion of excellence in horticulture.

Premier garden designers and landscape companies are featured in displays of natural stone, ponds and waterfalls, arbors and patios, and plants and flowers in all their variations of form, fragrance and color. Representatives of these premier companies are present throughout the show to share their knowledge and expertise.

The faces of the Sussex County Master Gardeners greet visitors to the Show in The Entry Garden, designed by the staff of Three Seasons LLC. In this garden you will find a whole new ‘Art Gallery’ serving as a backdrop for the “Still Life Comes to Life” exhibit. Here both amateur and professional contestants ‘paint with plants and objects’ to make arrangements full of ideas for your own home and garden.

Garden enthusiasts can plan their visit to catch a free lecture, included with paid admission to the show. Among the speakers this year is renowned garden writer and lecturer, Ken Druse, sharing his passion and knowledge of propagating plants. The Lecture Series includes such diverse subjects as bonsai, perennials, hydrangeas, native plants, garden design and more and features experts both local and national. DIYer’s will want to catch the popular Chain Saw Safety Demo offered by Stihl, one of Springfest’s Presenting Sponsors.

Last year, the newest trend in outdoor living — Designer Sheds: Living in Your Garden was a huge hit with visitors and will be returning with even more stylish transformations of three lowly garden sheds into terrific outdoor living spaces such as ‘A Wine Enthusiast’s Tasting Room’ and ‘An Upscale Potting Shed’. One lucky visitor will win their favorite shed completely furnished.

The show’s Marketplace provides the area’s garden shopping where exhibitors and are selected to reflect Springfest’s commitment to quality. Visitors will find such widely diverse items as garden ornaments and furniture, hats and gloves, dried flowers, fertilizers, garden machinery, fencing and sheds, seeds, bulbs, and potted plants, including orchids, topiaries and perennials.

Arborists, outdoor lighting and irrigation specialists are among the expert service exhibitors. Educational displays offering information and advice include public gardens and various plant societies. The Master Gardeners of Sussex County will showcase ‘Planting Out of the Box’ featuring the latest viral internet sensation of a 16th century idea, ‘mosaic – culture.’

Much anticipated, year after year, is the Kids Plant Your Own Zone, where children discover the enjoyment of gardening. Another popular feature for children is the Treasure Hunt.

The Garden Café e will offer lunch or fine pastries with gourmet coffee, teas, and wine bar.

Springfest is sponsored in part with donations from Intercar Mercedes-Benz of Newton, Eastern Propane and Stihl, Inc. and with support from Brodhecker Farms, The Morville Agency, Appleby’s Corp., Tri-State Insurance Agency, Lakeland Bank, Blue Ridge Lumber and many more.

Springfest 2014 begins Thursday, March 13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily at the Sussex County Fairgrounds, 37 Plains Road, Augusta and runs through Sunday, March 16.

Admission: Adults $12, Seniors (65+) $9, Kids under 15 free. Senior Day $8 on Thursday.

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