Creating a Chinese-style garden at home
You don't need pavilions and a lake. The principles of a classical garden work in a small yard, or even on a balcony.
Start with the principles, not ornaments
Stone lanterns and red lacquer don't make a Chinese garden. What matters is enclosure, a balance of rock and water, framed views, and plants chosen for their seasons and meanings.
Enclose and divide
A wall or fence painted white becomes a backdrop that shows off the shadows of bamboo and plum branches. Even a small garden can be split into two "rooms" with a screen or a shaped opening, so that it can't all be seen at once.
Rock and water
- One good, characterful rock, set upright in gravel or among ferns, can be the centre of the whole garden.
- Water can be a small pond, a stone basin or a glazed bowl with a water lily, small enough for a balcony.
- Let water edges disappear behind rocks or plants so that the pond seems larger.
Plants
Choose a few plants for each season: plum or flowering quince for late winter, peony for spring, a water lily or lotus in a bowl for summer, maple and osmanthus for autumn, pine and bamboo for winter structure. Use clumping bamboo species; running ones spread aggressively. See plants and their meanings.
Materials and details
- Pebble paving in simple patterns, grey stone and dark tiles.
- A window or opening in a fence that frames a plant or a rock.
- A bench positioned for one particular view: a garden is for sitting in.