On one occasion we tried growing a beautiful lawn in front of our bodega just in case we fancied playing a game of tennis – but it didn’t work – simply too hot. (The front of our bodega is south facing and can reach temperatures of up to 40°C at the height of summer). So now we have settled for something that requires a little less maintenance…. a Japanese rock garden, often known as a Zen garden.

Strictly speaking ours is a Karesansui garden, built where there is no water present, but on a base of gravel that represents either rivers, seas, oceans or lakes.

Karesansui gardens can be abstract and have stone and other elements that symbolise mountains or islands. We also incorporate “ishi wo taten koto”, meaning literally, the “act of setting stones upright.” In ancient Japan the placement of stones was perceived as the primary act of gardening. Normally there would always be more horizontal than vertical stones. If there are “running away” stones there must be “chasing” stones. If there are “leaning” stones, there must be “supporting” stones – it’s not quite as simple as you might think……

By the way, I forgot to mention that the tree in this photo is actually the root of a large tree turned upside down – in Japan this tree would represent, well, a tree!

On one occasion we tried growing a beautiful lawn in front of our bodega just in case we fancied playing a game of tennis – but it didn’t work – simply too hot. (The front of our bodega is south facing and can reach temperatures of up to 40°C at the height of summer). So now we have settled for something that requires a little less maintenance…. a Japanese rock garden, often known as a Zen garden.

Strictly speaking ours is a Karesansui garden, built where there is no water present, but on a base of gravel that represents either rivers, seas, oceans or lakes.

Karesansui gardens can be abstract and have stone and other elements that symbolise mountains or islands. We also incorporate “ishi wo taten koto”, meaning literally, the “act of setting stones upright.” In ancient Japan the placement of stones was perceived as the primary act of gardening. Normally there would always be more horizontal than vertical stones. If there are “running away” stones there must be “chasing” stones. If there are “leaning” stones, there must be “supporting” stones – it’s not quite as simple as you might think……

By the way, I forgot to mention that the tree in this photo is actually the root of a large tree turned upside down – in Japan this tree would represent, well, a tree!