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Japanses Garden anyone? [especially rock]

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Gonna do some Japanese style landscaping in front of the house. We have some medium size flat stones and two large rocks along side two large rocks that should lend themselves towards something of Asian design. I've never done anything like this before and I'm wondering if I should put heavy plastic down before I put in the gravel to keep weeds out. Does anyone here have any experience with Japanese landscaping or knows of a good online resource? Thanks.
 
Never really done that myself, but on This Old House and HomeTime when they do that sort of thing they lay down landscaping fabric, which has small holes to allow water to drain through but too small for stuff to grow up through or let dirt migrate in. I wouldn't think you'd want to use regular plastic sheet, could get water in the bottom and over time it seems to get brittle and break up.
 
Man, me and my lexdysia, Japanese.


Thanks for the tip, that's a good idea. I think we may have some here. I might wait till spring but I bet I could get a good deal on stuff now (if I can still find it).
 
Antigermination hormone works great in your flower beds. My mother is a " master" gardener and if you have questions head to your local garden center. Not the big box store, with a map of your garden and get plants that work for your region. The stones you have will work well, Japanese maples are easy to grow and colors, heights and forms make for a continously changing look. Butterfly bushes in our garden add to the look. Got to go. ? Let me know.
Paul
 
butterfly Bushes, and your mom is a master Gardner?
In Washington they are classified as a noxious plants.
 
apbos said:
Antigermination hormone works great in your flower beds. My mother is a " master" gardener and if you have questions head to your local garden center. Not the big box store, with a map of your garden and get plants that work for your region. The stones you have will work well, Japanese maples are easy to grow and colors, heights and forms make for a continously changing look. Butterfly bushes in our garden add to the look. Got to go. ? Let me know.
Paul
Click to expand...

My main question is how do I prep the site before I put down more pea gravel? I think this may become a bigger project than I firs thought but that's o.k. I may need to raise our front patio first and put in drainage as the patio stones seemed to have sunk some . I think I may just pull everything up and start from scratch but I relay hate to do that.
 
Step 1: decide what kind of Japanese garden you want. Some are nothing but stones; others are elaborate arrangements of plants, water, stones, and wooden structures.


Step 2: Start small!

(If you're just asking about how to prevent weeds - you can't permanently do that. You can block growth from the soil by laying landscaping fabric, then sand, then stones, etc. But seeds blow in on the wind. Corn gluten can stop the germination, in an "earth friendly" way. But there are bazillions of other details to consider.)

Edit: just read your previous post about preparing the area. First you have to decide what you're going to put there, before you do any preparation.

Tom
 
NutmegCT said:
Edit: just read your previous post about preparing the area. First you have to decide what you're going to put there, before you do any preparation.

Tom
Click to expand...

Gravel, I'm not getting crazy, just using what I already have. We have five or six 12' ligustrums around the house that should "bonsai" up nice. I can't get anything to grow around the base of the house, thus gravel is needed. The elements already in place here lend themselves towards a Japanese style landscape, however; my goal isn't a traditional Japanese garden. I'm just borrowing some ideas and need to know what prep I have to do before hand. I don't feel like weeding my gravel and need to know what's the best prep to keep the weeds down as much as possible.
 
kellysguy said:
Gravel
Click to expand...

oops - sorry I wasn't clear. You need to decide what kind of Japanese garden you're putting in, before you do any prep work.
 
OK - you added a lot of info to the "gravel" post since my reply. If the goal here is to keep the weeds away regardless of the garden design, then you need to:

https://www.finegardening.com/how-to/articles/controlling-weeds-garden-how-to.aspx

How to prepare the garden foundation depends on exactly what you're putting in the area (trees, rocks, water feature, annuals, perennials, etc.).

How 'bout posting a design of what you're putting in, and where. You need to take into account the needs of the plants (sunlight, soil texture and composition, drainage, etc.). There are several free apps to help. Examples:

https://www.bhg.com/gardening/design/nature-lovers/welcome-to-plan-a-garden/

https://smallblueprinter.com/garden/planner.html

https://www.gardendesignpro.co.uk/acatalog/free_garden_design_software.html

So put up a couple designs and we'll take it from there.

Tom
 
Of course, you could do a Zen type garden:

rock_garden.jpeg


So spend some time in choosing and designing what you want. Then we can work on details of prep, etc.
 
apbos said:
My mother is a UC Master Gardener having been certified for many years. She has worked in the industry for more than 55 years and at 74 still works at the garden center 3 days a week. https://https://camastergardeners.ucanr.edu/Becoming_a_Master_Gardener/ I refer to her wisdom for all things in the garden.
Click to expand...

Hey - congrats to your mom! I'm a Connecticut MG. Learned more about agriculture/horticulture in that year long class than I ever knew existed.

toptitle.jpg

Go Huskies!

Tom
 
Here in New Mexico, our answer to the Japanese garden is called xeriscaping. Our front yard had a sturdy grass when we first bought the house 15 years ago. However, over the years, the "yard" has deteriorated and been attacked by gophers to the point that it is unrecognizable. My plan eventually is to xeriscape out to about 50-75 feet from front of the house, then let the areas further out just remain "native". On our property we get thousands of wild flowers in the natural areas in the spring and, while they may technically be weeds, they are nevertheless beautiful, such as Indian Paintbrush:

house 1 23 May 04.jpg
 
Basil - that is a *great* photo. Remember, "weeds" are just plants that we don't want. So you don't have any weeds!

Tom
 
NutmegCT said:
Basil - that is a *great* photo. Remember, "weeds" are just plants that we don't want. So you don't have any weeds!

Tom
Click to expand...

Thanks! When I get ready to do the xeriscaping, I will consult someone (like a Master Gardner) to get ideas on how to lay it out and which plants to use for this high dessert area. I am a total idiot when it comes to such things, but I know what I like and don't like.
 
Basil said:
Thanks! When I get ready to do the xeriscaping, I will consult someone (like a Master Gardner) to get ideas on how to lay it out and which plants to use for this high dessert area. I am a total idiot when it comes to such things, but I know what I like and don't like.
Click to expand...

If you realize you'll need some help, you're not a total idiot!

https://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/mastergardeners/

Tom
 
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