Japanese garden
for a small high school in rural Australia
for a small high school in rural Australia
When the local high school where I lived decided to build a Japanese garden to help its language students understand a little more about Japanese culture, I offered to design it for them as a pro bono project, since I was literally the only designer in town!
I researched Japanese garden design extensively and settled on the tsukiyama (hill garden) style, which frames a view of a distant hill to 'borrow' the landscape, making it feel like the garden extends that far. It was appropriate both because the site has a view of a hill in the distance, and because it's a style designed to make a small garden feel larger.
I then took myself on a virtual tour of Japanese-style gardens in Japan, via Flickr, to help me design something as authentically Japanese as possible (rather than copying Westernised interpretations of Japanese gardens).
The garden is still being built, but has already been a big success at the school.
I researched Japanese garden design extensively and settled on the tsukiyama (hill garden) style, which frames a view of a distant hill to 'borrow' the landscape, making it feel like the garden extends that far. It was appropriate both because the site has a view of a hill in the distance, and because it's a style designed to make a small garden feel larger.
I then took myself on a virtual tour of Japanese-style gardens in Japan, via Flickr, to help me design something as authentically Japanese as possible (rather than copying Westernised interpretations of Japanese gardens).
The garden is still being built, but has already been a big success at the school.
Japanese garden plan.
The garden features many elements common in Japanese gardens, including a water feature with Japanese irises, a Shinto gate, standing stones, paved and 'stepping stone' paths, bamboo fencing, a 'tea house'-style outdoor classroom with a small wisteria-covered pergola in front, Japanese box hedging, bamboo, Japanese maples, camellias, and pine trees trained to look windswept and wizened. Space was also created where students can have a cherry blossom festival each spring, with lawn underneath ornamental cherry trees.
I chose to make a colourful 'blueprint' to help the people building the garden (who include school students as young as 11, as well as adults in the school community unused to reading design schematics) visualise the different elements in the garden.
The garden features many elements common in Japanese gardens, including a water feature with Japanese irises, a Shinto gate, standing stones, paved and 'stepping stone' paths, bamboo fencing, a 'tea house'-style outdoor classroom with a small wisteria-covered pergola in front, Japanese box hedging, bamboo, Japanese maples, camellias, and pine trees trained to look windswept and wizened. Space was also created where students can have a cherry blossom festival each spring, with lawn underneath ornamental cherry trees.
I chose to make a colourful 'blueprint' to help the people building the garden (who include school students as young as 11, as well as adults in the school community unused to reading design schematics) visualise the different elements in the garden.
Garden site BEFORE
Note view of hillside in the distance, to be framed by the garden to 'borrow' the landscape, in the Japanese hill garden (tsukiyama) style.
Note view of hillside in the distance, to be framed by the garden to 'borrow' the landscape, in the Japanese hill garden (tsukiyama) style.
Shinto gate model
After seeing the plan, the woodwork students and their teacher researched shinto gate designs and created this model, to show what they would build for the site.
After seeing the plan, the woodwork students and their teacher researched shinto gate designs and created this model, to show what they would build for the site.
Shinto gate
The Shinto gate at the entrance to the garden, as it now stands on the site. (Photo was taken shortly before the gate was painted.)
The Shinto gate at the entrance to the garden, as it now stands on the site. (Photo was taken shortly before the gate was painted.)
Progress photo
The garden takes shape. Formwork for the path through the garden is shown in the foreground; students poured concrete shortly after this photo was taken. The empty pond is behind it, and the student-built shinto gate to the right. The small trees in the photo were planted by students, and will grow into the large trees shown in the garden plan.
The garden takes shape. Formwork for the path through the garden is shown in the foreground; students poured concrete shortly after this photo was taken. The empty pond is behind it, and the student-built shinto gate to the right. The small trees in the photo were planted by students, and will grow into the large trees shown in the garden plan.
