Got a deal on a book on ebay for $.01 + shipping. Japanese-Inspired Gardens: Adapting Japan’s Design Traditions for Your Garden (21st Century Gardening Series)
. Its a good guide for beginners and westerners who may be planning a garden. One thing that caught my attention was the authors recognition that western gardens that mimic japanese gardens do not have the same meaning. Example: Putting a wash basin on the roji (path to the tea house) in Japan is part of the spiritual cleansing before entering the tea house. Here in the west it is merely a prop that will probably become a bird bath since we don’t have the same belief systems. The goal is to convert the ideals of the garden to the local environment and belief systems of the owner and visitor. A western garden can still be considered a place to relax and devote ones self to the practice of ones religion. Use of local materials is emphasized over traditional materials. The guide provides how to instructions, the whys of what you are doing, and how to avoid being a cliche’.
I am still dealing with the leaking bog. I am having to remove the top layer of rocks and reset them in a different configuration. I never was really pleased with the right side of the falls anyway. I don’t have much time to devote to it since the days are so short this time of year. I should be finished by spring hopefully, so I can begin other projects.
