Average customer rating:
- Build Your Japanese Garden and spent your free time golfing
- Good for beginners
- For inspiration, start here
- Great intro
- amazingly beautifuls pictures
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Ortho's All About Creating Japanese Gardens (Ortho's All About Gardening)
Ortho
Manufacturer: Ortho
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Creating Your Own Japanese Garden
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Japanese Gardens in a Weekend: Projects for One, Two or Three Weekends (In a Weekend)
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A Japanese Touch for Your Garden
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Japanese Gardening in Small Spaces
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Styles and Motifs Japanese Gardens
ASIN: 0897214897
Release Date: 2003-01-01 |
Product Description
BOOK ORTHO GUIDE TO CREATING JAPANESE GARDENS BOOK BOOK
Customer Reviews:
Build Your Japanese Garden and spent your free time golfing.......2007-06-12
I bought serveral books about creating Japanese gardens. This book by far the best one that I had. I built a Japanese style Rock Garden so I don't have to mow my lawn. My back yard is built based on some of the pictures and tips I read from this book. The fun part is that you put in your hard work and built the garden you wanted which pays off when your guests give you thumb up. I spent about $5000 on the materials and hours of my own labor on the project. Now I can spent my weekend golfing instead of mowing my lawn. Ouch! My back still hurting from all the hardwork.
Good for beginners.......2007-04-04
The book is easy to read and explains the whole concept of Japanese gardening. I learned with it and will be using it to plan my Japanese garden. Very pleased customer!
For inspiration, start here.......2007-02-19
I've always wanted to have a Japanese Garden but never got around to doing it. I picked up this book at the library and, WOW, it has really inspired me! Not only am I now drafting up plans to turn a corner of my yard into a Japanese Garden but I showed it to a neighbor and he's thinking of making his backyard into something like the courtyard garden on page 20. I'll probably get a library of books on Japanese Gardening but this book will be the first one I'll buy.
Great intro.......2006-02-01
I got this book from the library and was pleasantly surprised at the details and useful, practical advice on conceiving and executing a japanese garden. The book contains detailed instructions on how to lay out, build, select plans for, and maintain a Japanese-inspired garden. It talks about rocks, rock gardening, ponds, water plants and fish, paths, stepping stones, gates, and plants and plant selections. I found it really helpful in getting ideas to give to our landscape architect. I would recommend this book for anyone that is going to actually build (rather than just enjoy looking at pictures of) a japanese garden.
amazingly beautifuls pictures.......2005-08-02
This book is one of the best I ever buy about gardening and landscaping. The pictures alone worth the price.
They gives details to build your garden, makes pounds and falls and it seems so easy that I am starting my own right now.
They also list the kind of trees and plants to uses.
Buy this book with confidence.
Book Description
Here is a concise introduction to the practical aspects of making a Japanese garden. Whether your garden is a spacious suburban lot, an office countyard, or a tiny inner-city backyard, you will find here hundreds of creative but time-honored ways to make maximum use of the space you have.
You will learn how to lay stones and pathways and how to create intriguing sand patterns like the ones in Zen temple gardens. You will learn about Japanese lanterns, miniature pagodas, water basins, gates, and walls, and will be shown step by step how to make a bamboo lattice fence. Notes on the
care of bamboo, moss, and grass are provided as are names of native North American plants and trees that can be substituted for conventional Japanese varieties. Schematic layout plans, detailed how-to explanations, and over 130 color photographs of Japanese gardens old and new give you ideas for
endless variations.
Thoroughly up-to-date in its approach and based on the principle that a garden must satisfy the gardener, not a set of inflexible guidelines, this book encourages you to choose freely from the wide range of traditional Japanese design elements that suit your needs and tastes. Whether you live in the
country, city, or somewhere in between, you will discover here numerous ways to transform-simply, inexpensively, and with your own two hands-that back porch, corridor, or yard into an intimate, tranquil oasis, one that will reward your planning and work with a rich and everchanging beauty.
Customer Reviews:
The Fundamental of Building Japanese Garden!.......2007-06-12
This book shows how to use essential elements such as rocks, plants, laterns, and boulders etc., within a space. The diagrams in the book illustrated how to use those elements to balance and compensate each other and make your garden looks much bigger and more appealing to the viewers.
A great book to read before you start your weekend garden project. This book will give you inspiration and give your spirit alift. I built my Japanese Rock Garden after reading this book and other book that I bought "Ortho's All About Creating Japanese Gardens". A great garden will add value to your home so did my garden -- a friend of mine who is a realestate appraiser told me that I must added about $30,000 to my property although I spent only about $5000 on the materials.
Highly recommanded for anyone who are interested about Japanese Garden or do it youself gardener!!!!!
Touch ?.......2005-08-11
I think people have "japanese" gardens or any other type of garden but they for example don't have like english garden with a japanese touch. I don't have this book and i will not buy it, because i want a JAPANESE garden nor mexican-japanese-english-french or anything else garden
Just what you need.......2005-08-02
The title of this book is a bit misleading, in that it does not offer tips on adding a "Japanese touch" to your existing garden, but rather goes about explaining how to create a Japanese-style garden in the space available to you. In this manner, it is an extremely capable guide and leaves you with the confidence that you can accomplish building your own Japanese-style garden.
"A Japanese Touch for Your Garden" tells both the basic elements of a Japanese garden; rocks, plants, water, artificial elements, and also provides a blueprint for laying out and constructing a garden using these elements. Although packed with lovely pictures, the book is straight-forward and bare-boned, giving you the essentials of what you need. The authors briefly touches upon garden philosophy and such, but acknowledges that there are other, thicker books for the esoteric matters and they will focus on the practical.
The different sections of the book deal with things such as stone lanterns, bamboo fences, bridges, plants and trees...basically everything you will need. The focus is one how to select and use these available elements for the existing space you have to work with, and how to maximize them for the effect you want to achieve. The rear of the book also contains a guide of Japanese gardens in the US that you can visit, and suppliers of the various items you may want for your garden.
An excellent book, it is exactly what you need if there is a spare portion of your house or yard where you would like to put a Japanese garden. For a more deeper, spiritual look at Japanese gardens, look elsewhere. But to be inspired and begin construction on your own "World in Miniature," this is the place to start.
Wonderful book.......2005-07-19
This book contains wonderful pictures and offers many ideas for a Japanese style garden or balcony.
Best Guidebook for Planning Your First Japanese Garden.......2003-08-24
Not a coffee table glamour book, not a glossed-over editorial toss-off destined for the remainder bin. This is quite simply the best guidebook for the amateur of the Japanese garden who wishes to try out the concepts at home.
It can be very frustrating to take home some fancy book on Zen gardens, only to find that it contains no real help for creating one. This book's real, step-by-step, practical advice is what anyone is after. It does not pretend to be the end-all of the art, & rather it admits this right from the title (A Japanese TOUCH...) This book will get you the right LOOK.
I found especially useful the diagrams of how to get balance (especially through rocks) within a space. There are some very good illustrations of bamboo fencing, too. Botanical suggestions and lists of suppliers are also helpful, but these lists are not exhaustive. You can achieve the basic framework with this book, though. I have yet to find a better Japanese gardening book... room for improvement is in expanding the above lists and adding practical suggestions for more ambitious, larger landscaping. But this will get you the basics.
Bonus delight is the first entry, a mood-setting piece on one man's contemplation of mountains and forests... all to be found in his tiny Japanese garden.
Grab a copy and use it and love your results!
Book Description
A practical guide to planning and constructing a Japanese garden. Step-by-step instructions explain every facet, from displaying plants and rocks to mastering drainage and lighting, to creating bamboo fences and hedges.
Customer Reviews:
Japanese Gardening in Small Spaces.......2007-05-14
This is an excellent book for anyone planning to build their own garden. The instructions for creating the various elements of the garden made it look easy, and the descriptions given for items that become a part of the garden I found quite interesting. I would have liked even more finished garden pictures as I was only looking for inspiration. But, even with out as many pictures as I would have like, the book was helpful and my garden is now complete, giving me the tranquility I was looking for.
Japanese garden.......2006-12-19
You will find inside a lot of inspiration on how to make things work. Exceptional "do it yourself" recommendations. Its a real guidebook for japanese gardening lovers.
AUTHENTIC AND INSPIRATIONAL.......2005-10-07
I picked up about ten books on Japanese gardening at the library and this book was by far the most inspirational. The author gives definitions for technical terms and also shows step by step illustrations to recreate various photographs within the book. He also shows how to make a bamboo fence which I thought was really neat and I am actually going to give it a try. This is the only book I decided to purchase out of the lot from the library and I plan on giving a few copies as gifts.
Great Ideas... Too Complex.......2004-06-09
As much as I liked the pictures and the possibilities of the gardens, there's no chance that the average person could even attempt some of the Japanese style gardens. The designs are beautiful but you really do need a LOT of room to do any of these designs. The idea of a calming, tranquil space to sit would be wonderful but not on my budget.
An Excellent Manual.......2001-10-10
Sorry, my english is no good. I'm a chilean landscaper and I bought this book about 2 month ago and it can help me in many ways for my job. Have a lot of details of how to do fences and other triks with good photos.
Book Description
Enjoy it for its sheer beauty or use it for inspiration while creating your own small landscape garden.
Japanese gardening is the art of arranging plants, rocks, lanterns, and basins in an open or, as here, an enclosed space. According to the aesthetic principles long prevailing in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, even two rocks arranged in a tiny, enclosed space can be considered a garden. This
type of garden is called a tsuboniwa, and Kyoto has long being considered its birthplace and home. So it is not surprising that photographer Katsuhiko Mizuno, wishing to capture the best of such small gardens, should turn to Kyoto and its palaces, temples, shrines, and town houses.
The highlight of the book is the 100 photographs of these tsuboniwa-snow overlying sand patterns; coloring maple leaves; flowering cherry trees; lanterns, basins, fences; gardens featuring wisteria, azalea, hydrangea, Indian lilac, camellia, and daphne. Each photo is accompanied by an insightful
caption pointing out the outstanding characteristics of the garden in question.
An appendix gives Mizuno's instructions for creating a tsuboniwa, based on his personal experience. His account of the underlying concepts, design, choice of plants, and practical procedures will prove a invaluable reference for all garden creators, from amateur to professional.
Customer Reviews:
Nice pictures.......2006-06-29
This book is not only a great picture book, but it also provides wonderful descriptions of the Japanese gardens featured - succinct and informative. If you like landscaping with the Japanese feel, you'll enjoy this book.
faulty product.......2006-02-24
The book is excellent but the dust cover was torn obviously before despatch as the packaging was good.
The disappointment was that there was no method of complaint other than returning the product. From Australia to USA not practible.
Beyond the basics, Japanese Garden Book.......2006-01-19
I've been through a lot of Japanese gardening books, and many of been a little repetitive, covering the basic design elements and what not. Mizuno has put together a great "Intermediate" read once you've had enough of the basics. The pictures are some of the best available of authentic Japanese gardens, and the captions are short and to the point but with just enough plant identifications to be useful to someone in their planning stage.
Perhaps the best feature of this book is the introductory discussion on the "Omoteya style" town home (traditional Japanese merchant class town home). The text suggest there is a conservation movement to this vanishing style of Japanese home that mirrors the affection American's are beginning to culture towards the Bungalow. As the Omoteya styled homes share similar dimensions with the American city lot (diagrams are provided with the text), this book is a fabulous resource to urban dwellers looking to incorporate the Japanese garden concept to their grassy postage stamp.
A book to inspire you.......2003-10-31
Beautiful pictures and good text. It doesn't contain "how to do" tips but there is a chapter on how the author build one tsuboniwa in a Kyoto house.
Book Description
Designed for the layman as well as the professional, this concise yet comprehensive guide provides both practical information and theoretical insights into the design of the Japanese garden. Kyoto, the capital of Japan for over one thousand years, possesses a richness of garden art without equal as a living chronicle of Japanese cultural history and environmental design. Following the introductory essays are individual entries for more than fifty temple and palace gardens. The text is augmented by an excellent selection of photographs, historical prints, maps and color plates.
Customer Reviews:
The only comprehensive guide to the gardens of Kyoto.......2006-04-04
This book is an indispensible aide to anyone planning a trip on his own. This book contains over 50 individual entries describing the gardens of Kyoto and environs, grouped by geographic location within the city. Overview maps for the different districts show the approximate location of the individual gardens, so that the traveller can put together itineraries for daytrips in the Kyoto area.
Each entry gives details of opening hours, historic background and special features of the garden described. The name of the garden and its location are additonally specified in Japanese characters, making this book the ideal travel guide for those embarking on a trip to Kyoto.
There is a limited number of photos, so that those wanting to plan a trip using the guide might consider referencing other books with numerous color photos to pick the specific gardens they are interested in.
A Guide to The Gardens of Kyoto, Marc Treib and Ron Herman.......2005-01-05
Don't leave home without this book! Anyone who is planning a trip to Japan (resident foreigners included) and has even the slighest interest learning about the Gardens of Kyoto should buy a copy of this superb book, which is small enough to carry in your shoulder bag. The book contains gives the balance of detail,giving good a historical background and landscape points overview. This is a buy you will not regret. Well done to the authors.
Book Description
The creation of a Japanese garden combines respect for nature with adherence to simple principles of aesthetics and structure. In Japanese Garden Design, landscape architect Marc Peter Keane presents the history and development of the classical metaphors that underlie all Japanese gardens.
Keane describes the influences of Confucian, Shinto and Buddhist principles that have linked poetry and philosophy to the tangible metaphor of the garden. Detailed explanations of basic design concepts identify and interpret the symbolism of various garden forms and demonstrate these principles in use today.
Customer Reviews:
Best Monograph on the Japanese Garden in Print.......2006-04-02
Of all the monographs on Japanese garden design, this book provides the best overview of the underlying cultural context that has been the basis for its development.
While this book does not desribe individual gardens in detail, it adresses both the historical context and the many other influences that have shaped the aesthetic of the Japanese garden. More so than in any previous monograph, Marc Peter Keane points out the influences of Japan's prehistoric period, Shintoism and Buddhism as it relates to the veneration of landscape and nature.
He also describes the effect that geomancy, poetry and ink brush painting had on the evolution of garden prototypes and subject matter. Beyond that he pays special attention to the physical setting, architectural context, aesthetics, social and economical environment in which each of the garden prototypes evolved into todays classifications.
The book is beautifully ilustrated with a large number of color photographs and drawings by the author, that support and visualize the points made in the well-written text. I believe this is currently the best monograph, in that it gives an excellent introduction to the Japanes garden and its cultural heritage to international audiences, without getting lost in the description of details of individual gardens or the symbolic meanings attributed to specific design elements.
Probably the best English language source available!.......2004-03-25
Marc Keane, the other author of this exellent book, is a professor at Kyoto University, and educates students in Japanese garden design. Other good background material on Japanese gardens includes: "Sakuteiki: Visions of the Japanese Garden" (a trans. of an 11th cent. Japanese scroll), also written by Marc Keane, with Jiro Takei; and "Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardening" ( another ancient scroll trans.), by David Slawson.
A very useful "how-to" book is: "Creating Japanese Gardens", by Phillip Cave. "A Japanese Touch for your Garden," by Seike, Kudo and Engel, also supplies the meat-and-potatoes.
You can pick up many helpful details in pictures found in the "coffee-table" books available. Haruzo Ohashi, who did the photography for "Japanese Garden Design," has done outstanding photographic work for several other books in this category.
If you are a "back-yard-gardener" like me, all of these books will just be the starting point. You will learn that there are several distinct styles of Japanese gardens. However, there are no hard rules. Elements of the basic styles can be incorporated into your garden.
The finished product: "your interpretation of the Japanese Garden" (what works for you), will be well worth the effort. It was for me. Just remember that in the Japanese garden "less is often more." Every open space does not have to be filled with a rock, a plant or an ornament. Step back and look at each element that you incorporate. Make sure that each item compliments your whole design. This is the essence of the project.
Good Luck and Have Fun!
Nice Pictures.......2003-06-18
There are many nice picutes in this book, however, there is not much instruction on the actual design of a Japanese garden. It talks about the history and philosophy, but does not mention much about the principles of design such as rock placement, plant species, structures, etc. It is enjoyable to browse through often, but is a better "coffee table" book than textbook.
Bravo Mr. Keane!.......2001-03-15
This is one of the best non-fiction selections I've ever encountered. It does justice to its esteemed topic, both in its superb photographic selections and its rich and highly informative text. Far more than a mere coffee table book, Mr. Keane's solid understanding and sensitive insight have created a work which I refer to often in my own gardening ventures. I cannot recommend this book more highly.
A treasure for anyone interested in Japanese Gardens.......2000-01-28
Confession: I didn't actually buy this book, I borrowed it from the library. Why am I telling you this? Because this will mark the first time, ever, that I've gone out and purchased a copy of a book for myself once I've read it for free. Normally, once I've read a book I put it up on the shelf or return it to the lender, never to crack it open again (with the exception of a few reference books). This time will be different.
Oh, I do have a few quibbles with the book. The author includes a number of interesting endnotes, most of which could have easily been incorporated into the text itself so a reader doesn't have to flip back-and-forth. And for some reason, some of the notes seem to be ill-placed; in some cases you'll come to a footnote, read it, only to have that bit of information captured in a subsequent paragraph of the main text. Another problem is the occasional editing mistake - words out of order, words left in that were clearly meant for deletion (maybe that's the printer's fault), and a misspelling here and there.
But, these are minor points. I have worked as a volunteer tour guide at a Japanese Garden in a local botanic garden, and I have never seen a single book that so eloquently and completely captured the subject of Japanese garden design: its history, its development in the context of Japanese cultural, social and religious history, its fundamental principles, even the language that is used to describe its various aspects. It is a well-rounded, clearly-written primer on the meaning and use of these gardens.
It is NOT a how-to book; readers looking for instructions at the level of, "Place rock here, spread a bit of moss on the east-southeast side," will find themselves disappointed. As the author states repeatedly, Japanese garden design is not about decoration, plant lists or specific positioning of elements. Those things make a garden "Japan-esque". What he does is teach you - in condensed fashion - what the garden masters taught for generations: learn the principles, understand the meanings attached to the structure and design of Japanese gardens, emulate the best of what you see, and then create your garden with your own personal stamp and the materials available to you.
Because of this philosophy, because of the beauty of the photographs, and because of the information this book contains, I will refer to it again and again as I create my own Japanese garden at home.
Average customer rating:
- Beautiful photos but...........
- A good presentation of Kyoto Gardens
- Great picture reference for Japanese gardens and courtyards
- thoughtful and thorough
- A singularly beautiful treasury
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The Hidden Gardens of Kyoto
Masaaki Ono
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Similar Items:
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A Guide to the Gardens of Kyoto
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Landscapes for Small Spaces: Japanese Courtyard Gardens
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Courtyard Gardens of Kyoto's Merchant Houses
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Art of the Japanese Garden
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Styles and Motifs Japanese Gardens
ASIN: 4770029373 |
Book Description
ForeWord Magazine's BOOK OF THE YEAR Awards, Silver Medal Winner, Home & Garden
Supreme examples of the art of Japanese gardens, not easily accessible to the public.
The Hidden Gardens of Kyoto is the attractive sequel to Landscapes for Small Spaces by the same photographer, Katsuhiko Mizuno. In this new book, Mizuno introduces the gardens of Kyoto that are not easily accessible or are totally closed to the public.
Mizuno was born in Kyoto and has spent most of his life in this old capital, established in the eighth century. Kyoto is not susceptible to short-term fashions, and this rigidness can be seen in the way it has kept the tradition of garden art alive over the centuries in public and private spaces.
Thanks to his familiarity with the city, Mizuno has been able to penetrate its hidden corners and capture the beauty of unknown gardens with his cameras.
The Hidden Gardens of Kyoto displays more than fifty gardens, from private dwellings to the Imperial Palaces and Villas, temples, tea schools and shrines. The elements and structure of each garden are explained by Masaaki Ono, who studied under the greatest twentieth-century garden designer, Mirei
Shigemori. Plans drawn by Ono also accompany some of the garden descriptions.
Some Japanese gardens are planned so as to be seen from one vantage point, but many are designed for viewing from multiple angles. In his previous book, Mizuno only showed us one aspect per garden, but this time we are given various views as we explore the stroll gardens or look down from the
verandas of the buildings surrounding enclosed gardens. This three-dimensional approach will help both professional and amateur garden designers and landscape architects to understand the structure as well as the diverse vegetation used in one garden.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful photos but..................2007-09-04
Great picture book, but there isn't much in the way of detailed commentary. Would have enjoyed this book a lot more if there had been some focus on exactly what was highlighted in the photo.
A good presentation of Kyoto Gardens.......2006-03-10
After visiting Kyoto , i think this book gives us many opportunities to appreciate so many details of the wonderful and chaming japanes gardens of the ancient Japan capital.
And the pictures overall taken in fall period are much better,in my opinion, to the spring pictures
Great picture reference for Japanese gardens and courtyards.......2005-08-09
This a beautiful collection of large-sized well composed photographs of the different type of gardens found throughout Kyoto. They are accompanied with brief text on their design principles and historical background. Might proof useful as inspiration and reference for anyone writing and/or illustrating a story set in Feudal Japan like Samurai-Ninja stories. It might also be a nice surprise present to Anime/Manga fans by adding another dimension to their collections.
thoughtful and thorough.......2005-07-24
This book provides an excellent inside look at kyoto's historical gardens, though without much of the context in which they exist (e.g. surrounding city, houses). The photography is fantastic as it realistically shows the reader both the intricate details & broad strokes that make up these complex settings. Keep in mind, it is a serious piece of work and the descriptions are somewhat short and/or dry (but maybe that's the point).
A singularly beautiful treasury.......2004-10-10
The impressively visual photography of Katsuhiko Mizuno deftly combine with the infomative text of Masaaki Ono in The Hidden Gardens Of Kyoto, an amazingly beautiful photography book presenting captivating images of Kyoto gardens. The full-color pictures come with captions in fine print that succinctly inform the reader of the garden's location and style of composition. A summary of basic information and common Japanese garden formations is included in the back, but the majority of The Hidden Gardens Of Kyoto is devoted to resplendent photographs of the gardens themselves. A singularly beautiful treasury.
Book Description
The Sakuteiki, or "Records of Garden Making," was written nearly 1000 years ago, making it the oldest work on Japanese gardening; in fact, the oldest book on gardening in the world! In this edition of the Sakuteiki, the authors provide both an English-language translation of this classic work; and an introduction to the cultural and historical context that led to the development of Japanese gardening.
A Japanese court noble wrote the Sakuteiki during the Heian period (794-1184). During this critical era in Japanese history cultural influences on poetry, clothing-and gardening-that had been imported from China and Korea over the previous centuries were reexamined and reinterpreted into their unique Japanese forms. The Sakuteiki contains the first systematic record of this new gardening style-with both technical advice on gardening-building (much of which is still followed in today's Japanese gardens) and an examination of the four central threads of allegorical meaning which were integral features of Heian-era garden design.
Customer Reviews:
Pretty good book.......2007-01-16
I thought that it was a pretty good book. It wasn't what I had expected and do wish that there were more pictures illistrating what the author was talking about. Also the first half of the book was an introduction and history lesson that was long and somewhat boring. The Sakeutiki itself (which was the second half of the book) was interesting.
Serenity distilled.......2002-06-03
The original blueprint to create a Japanese garden filled with empty spaces, quiet, calm and tranquillity. I enjoy simply reading and rereading the detailed instructions which send my mind travelling along paths of gardens I've yet to see or create. Happy gardening.
Once in a millenium..........2001-12-07
The editorial comments on this book can hardly do it justice.
Not only does this book give you a clear, up-to-date translation of probably the earliest practical garden handbook, a treasure in itself, where those instructions remain relevant to gardening generally and japanese gardening in particular today - you get the result of an extraordinary cooperation between east and west, namely the attention, erudition and dedication of these two thoughtful and careful authors. In addition, you get almost 150 pages of a detailed, yet clearly comprehensible, well illustrated and very readable introduction to japanese gardens, their influences and the sakuteiki itself. If you have ever felt the coffee table japanese garden books are too vague and the academic books too turgid this book majestically spans and outshines both genre - Buy it!
Book Description
Japanese gardens have long been revered for their impeccable design, detail and composition, properties which elevate them from being mere gardens to peaceful havens of serenity and sacredness. Now the ancient Japanese Sakuteiki ("Notes on Garden Design")-the quintessential volume on Japanese garden design-is available for English-speaking readers, alongside gorgeous color photographs of Japan's most famous gardens. Infinite Spaces also includes practical advice and philosophical insights on building and maintaining water features such as miniature ponds and waterways, placing stones for excluding evil spirits and inviting the protection of benevolent deities, and much more. Today's gardeners can gather knowledge, specific design techniques, and inspiration to create magnificent garden sanctuaries in their own backyards.
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful Book.......2001-10-03
If your one of those people that can learn from basic truths and visual stimulous that book is great. Its a simple book with translations from the "bible" of Japanese gardening. And photos to show you examples.
Great photos but very little Sakuteiki.......2001-02-12
This is a better than average coffee-table book about Japanese Gardens. The photos are for the most part excellent (a few are too dark). Many of the gardens shown are located outside of the Kyoto area and have seldom if ever been shown in other such (English language) books on this subject; this is a nice touch because it means that there is little overlap between this book and others. I had high hopes that the book would include a substantial (if not complete) translation of the Sakuteiki but despite the introduction which implies that this might be the case, it is not true. I would guess that less than 25% of the text of Sakuteiki is included, and the authors have rearranged the material into thematic sections to fit their own taste. This is a terrible pity becuase the 11th century gardening manual known by the name "Sakuteiki" is a very important point of reference in understanding the historical developement of Japanese gardens - sections from it are quoted by almost every book written on the subject, yet there is no generally available English translation of it. The 1976 translation by Shigemaru Shimoyama (publ. by Town & City Planners,Inc. Tokyo) was printed in a tiny edition of only 300 copies so the only way to read it is by borrowing a copy thru the academic inter-library loan program at your local public library. The way the authors of this book have rearranged the text into disjointed quotations (with widely varying typographic style & presentation) really does not do justice to the orginal material and is in considerable danger of reinforcing the old western stereotype of "pearls of wisdom from the inscrutable orient". I would suggest that you buy this book for the pictures alone and not pay too much attention to the text as currently presented. If the book is popular enough to merit a 2nd edition I hope the authors will reconsider the current format.
Incredible photography!.......2000-10-17
The photos are so luscious--I can't think of a more appropriate term--that it's as if you're in these gardens. I believe all of the photos are of the ancient gardens in Kyoto, and if not, they're definately all from Japan. This book is truly one that was inspired by the Sakuteki, not an illustrated edition of the Sakuteki. You'll want it for dreamy page turning, not as an instruction book for your own gardens.
Average customer rating:
- Niwaki
- Illustratred Encyclopedic Guide to Japanese Plants
|
Garden Plants of Japan
Ran Levy-Yamamori , and
Gerard Taaffe
Manufacturer: Timber Press, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Flowers
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
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General
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
| Books
Japanese Gardens
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
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Ornamental Plants
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
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By Plant
| Gardening & Horticulture
| Home & Garden
| Subjects
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| Begonias
| Berries
| Bonsai
| Cacti
| Citrus Trees
| Clematis
| Dahlias
| Ferns
| Grapes
| Grasses
| Greens
| Hostas
| Hydrangeas
| Irises
| Lavender
| Lilacs
| Lilies
| Magnolias
| Orchids
| Palm Trees
| Peppers & Chiles
| Roses
| Tomatoes
| Tulips
Botany
| Biological Sciences
| Professional Science
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
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General
| Botany
| Biological Sciences
| Science
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Niwaki: Pruning, Training and Shaping Japanese Garden Trees
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The Hidden Gardens of Kyoto
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Sakuteiki: Visions of the Japanese Garden
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Styles and Motifs Japanese Gardens
ASIN: 0881926507 |
Book Description
Japanese plants have had an unmistakable influence on the gardens of the world. Who can imagine gardens without flowering cherries, hostas, Japanese maples, or magnolias? For all the popularity of these plants in international gardens, however, few gardeners know the full story of Japanese plants — their history and uses in gardens in Japan, their horticultural merits for gardens of all kinds, even the meaning and symbolism of their native names. Now for the first time, a color encyclopedia provides an authoritative overview of the Japanese garden flora. Garden Plants of Japan serves as a manual for horticultural advice, a source of inspiration for armchair gardeners, even a guidebook for travelers to Japan. Sumptuously illustrated, it explores the entire palette of plants cultivated in Japan, carefully noting which plants are authentically Japanese and which are transplants. The selection of plants and the amount of detail and insight are unprecedented.
Customer Reviews:
Niwaki.......2007-08-23
I just loved all the information and pictures it has on pruning your evergreen and trees. I found it very informative.
Illustratred Encyclopedic Guide to Japanese Plants.......2004-11-29
Visually appealing with its hundreds of bright color photographs and encyclopedic in its scope and content, this reference also has the clarity of organization and practicality of a garden handbook. Each of the listings of the hundreds of Japanese plants gives notes on appearance, cultivation, and use (e. g., ground cover, attractive spring flowers, potted plant) of the particular plant along with the Japanese and English names, interesting points, and related plants. As noted in the Foreword by E. Charles Nelson, the Japanese, with their insular culture, had no desire to go abroad seeking foreign plants--nor did they need to with the variety available in their homeland. Yet American gardeners and others readily took to Japanese plants when Japan opened up to the West, and continue to do so increasingly in recent years. This attractive, complete, useful reference fully satisfies an interest in the variety of Japanese plants. Both authors have extensive backgrounds and solid reputations in horticulture.
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