An Enchanting Effect
Water in Japanese Gardens
Water is well presented in:
• Dish gardens
• Pools
• Fountains
• Cascades and Waterfalls
• Aquaria
• Bog gardens
• Bog and water gardens
Water lends an enchanting effect and adds charm and beauty to any Japanese miniature garden. This is well understood by anyone with a zeal for gardening. Ardent gardeners take advantage of water's beautifying effect by creating miniature fountains, water pools or cascades in their Japanese gardens. The final creation depends much on the inherent capabilities of the individual. Artistic flair, aesthetic sense and mechanical ingenuity all play a vital role in the final outcome. W.H. Tydemann, A.M.I.E.E. of the "wartime broadcast" fame, was a mechanical genius who created various devices out of seemingly useless things like old gramophone motors and motorcycle pumps to create a continuous water flow for unusual and attractive fountains and cascades in his gardens.
Japanese Dish Gardens
Japanese dish gardens are created to offer the illusion of distant water bodies, like rivers and waterfalls, without using any water. Experts cleverly use silver and deeper tones of sand in their models, adding effect to the varying degrees of light and shade as seen in the actual landscapes. Using silver sand to represent the beach, they skillfully place pebbles of different sizes to indicate the water's edge. The water is shown by cellophane or mica but for better effect it is recommended that a "basin" fashioned from cement or plastic molding material in the desired shape be used. The visible surface should be roughened and given touches of matte paint and varnish for realism.
Water Pools
For a water pool in your Japanese garden, you can either have one built-in during the construction of the trough or sink, or you can install a prefabricated pool building the garden around it. In either case, it should be at least one to one and a half inches deep. If you intend to grow water plants in the pool, make sure that the pool be able to hold at least four inches of water. The bottom of the pool can be painted in suitable shades, adding to the visual effect of depth. When you want to fabricate a pool, it is preferable to use cement or waterproof modeling material. Get a mould for creating one in a popular shape. An informal shaped pool can be easily "hand modeled" or made by using waterproof containers of a preferred shape. The ideal thickness of the pool wall should be at least a quarter of an inch. The edges of an informal shaped pool should be pressed down, by cementing edge stones at irregular intervals.