Related Posts:

• Containers by Deanne Fortnam, Part 3
• Spring / Fall Clean Ups

Chris over at Garden Sense has really enjoyed the fall color this year! This week’s fall color post is all about the berries. In many ways the berries are even better than the foliage. They last beyond the color change, they create food for the birds, and the brightly colored berries are extremely festive this time of year! Stop over to Chris’s blog and check out the hollies, the beatyberry, the chokeberries, and others!

Related Posts:

• FAQS
• Vegetable Garden Layout with Raised Beds for 2011
• Spring / Fall Clean Ups

Frances has a great fall color post filled with autumn associated colors. One of my favorite plants (that I don’t have but want) is featured in the first picture – Winterberry Holly! It has great fall and winter interest with all those masses of bright red berries. There’s lots to see at France’s blog but one of the things she is most known for is the Muhly grass! Just take a look at the last picture to see why!

Phillip’s post at Dirt Therapy is a tour of his home garden but may as well have been at a botanical garden. The colors are filling up every corner of his garden. Japanese maples, hydrangeas, dogwoods and all kinds of color can be found down in Alabama!

Skeeter popped back in at In The Garden to show us some of the colors around her Georgia home. One of the most wonderful things about fall is the opportunity to see that 3 dimensional painting that our gardens become and Skeeter’s surroundings definitely fit the bill! Stop over to see Skeeter’s Georgia colors!

The brilliance of autumn can definitely be seen over at Chris’s blog Garden Sense. Red, gold, and orange colors are highlighted among maple, ginkgo, weeping cherry, and ash trees. A stop to Chris’s post should be on your fall color tour!

Newsflash – Texas has fall color! Stop on down and visit Tufa girl and see the brightly color trees emerging for autumn in the Lone Star state. Red and gold trees are beginning the fall transformation. There’s plenty of green still around so maybe there is more color to come!

Racquel has put together a cool collection of fall color through a collage. One of my favorite trees (yes I have quite a few) is featured there – the sweet gum! It’s often maligned because of its seed balls but I think its color in the fall makes up for that. Go take a look at Racquel’s Fall Color Collage!

Related Posts:

• FAQS
• Spring / Fall Clean Ups
• Power Washing

Simple Japanese Style Landscaping Ideas

If you want your garden to provide a sense of peace and tranquility, adding some simple Japanese style landscaping ideas will make your goal easy to accomplish. Whether you have a small patio garden or a huge landscape, you can incorporate Japanese style elements into your garden.

In general, Japanese style gardens do not contains a huge variety of plants or a rainbow of color. They are not perfectly symmetrical, nor lavish. They are, however, elegant and timeless and bring a welcomed break from the hustle and bustle of daily life in the modern world. They are places for meditation, contemplation, and thought. This style of garden is enclosed or screened from the outside world through the use of plants, fences, or berms.

Scale And Perspective

Look at the space you wish to use for your Japanese style garden. Scale and perspective are the main techniques used to create a sense of size, space and distance in the garden. You can achieve this through illusion, adding a false sense of perspective, by planting gradually smaller trees or plants farther from the focal point of the garden. If you have water features in your garden, choose the largest for the foreground. Water fountains or a water fall can be a very affordable way to add a peaceful sound to your Japanese style garden.

Add Japanese lanterns and pagodas to your garden, but be sure they are in proportion to the plants and other elements surrounding them.

Rocks in a Japanese style garden take on special meaning. They aren’t simply rocks or boulders but can be the backbone of your garden, around which other elements will fall into place. They represent islands, mountains, and holy places. A boulder can be partially buried to add mass, height, and a feeling of stability to the Japanese garden. Small stones can be used as the borders for pathways or to create the bottoms of water features. They can be used as stepping stones to actually create a path or to cross a small stream. If used to define a pathway, allow the path to wander rather than going in a straight line.

Sentinel Stone

Another use of stone in the [Japanese] style garden is the sentinel stone. This standing stone is used to symbolize warriors, deities, heroes and guardians. It is usually found at the entrance to a Japanese garden or at a major focal point where its presence will enhance the garden’s atmosphere. This type of stone can even be used in an otherwise flat Japanese landscape.

Choose a few Japanese style elements to include in your garden landscape to provide a peaceful place to sit and relax. An austere garden can easily be converted into a Japanese style garden with very low cost and a huge payoff in enjoyment

Related Posts:

• Natural lawn care tips: weed and pest removal advice
• Weed control tips
• FAQS