Beautiful and Delicate Friends
Japanese Miniature Gardens and Flowers
Flowers are beautiful and delicate friends. With a little attention, they delight everyone with their beautiful hues, fragrance and appearance. Flowers give you so much in return for so little when adding them to a Japanese garden. You need to understand them well because the best way of making a friend is to be one. In many ways, flowers have characteristics similar to those of humans. Some flowers seem shy and humble, content to creep and grow in shady spots and odd corners. Some are like proud beauties that love to be pampered with an abundance of special attention everyday. According to many, you need to maintain a sense of humor because nature often loves to play a practical joke. There are chances that you may come across some “eccentric” plants that grow beyond expectation or prostrate when they are expected to be erect. Sometimes a plant displays double flowers instead of singles. These cases are comparatively rare though and you should enjoy your gardening and view the plants with humor and love.
The How and Why of Plant Names:
Several newcomers in Japanese gardening are intimidated by the long and fancy scientific names of plants. There is no reason for fear since these names actually turn out to be helpful. It pays to know the names of the different plants. Usually, if you come across a list of names that need to be quickly identified, you need to come up with a foolproof pathway. For instance, your Christian name, nickname or surname is not enough for a letter to reach you. You need a precise address as well. In the army, there are several divisions like battalions, companies and corps in addition to the names of individuals. You can identify the person easily by rank, surname, number or the particulars of his unit. This is exactly what happens with different plants as well. Since there are tens of thousands of plant species, they are classified and then sub-divided. Latin is the common language used throughout the world for this methodical system. Instead of a particular plant having several names it has, under the system, one specific name that is used everywhere. Flowers are in fact a universal language and one that you will love learning when putting together your Japanese garden.
Every botanical name of a plant is a combination of at least two names: the generic and specific name. Generic names are common to the entire species and are always printed first. Generic names are just like the family name or surname. The specific names of plant species are always descriptive, including the characteristic growth, color and place of origin. It will be a pleasant treat choosing and getting to know the specific flowers you choose to beautify your Japanese garden.