A Japanese Garden is Not Your Ordinary Garden

Japanese gardening is much different from the Western style garden. Most would say that a Japanese garden is far more soul soothing and inspires meditation. Japanese gardening is a cultural form of gardening that is meant to produce a scene that mimics nature as much as possible. Using trees, shrubs, rocks, sand, artificial hills, ponds, and flowing water the garden becomes an art form. The Zen and Shinto traditions are both a large part of Japanese gardening and, because of this; the gardens have a contemplative and reflective state of mind.

The basic methods of scenery in are a reduced scale, symbolization, and borrowed views. The reduced scale is the art of taking an actual scene from nature, mountains, rivers, trees, and reproducing it on a smaller scale. Symbolization involves generalization and abstraction. An example of this would be using white sand to suggest the ocean. Borrowed views refer to artists that would use something like an ocean or a forest as a background, but it would end up becoming an important part of the scene.

There are two types of Japanese gardening. The tsukiyami garden is a hill garden and mainly composed of hills and ponds. The hiraniwa, which is the exact opposite of the tsukiyami garden, is a flat without any hills or ponds.

The basic elements used in Japanese gardening include rocks, gravel, water, moss, stones, fences, and hedges. Rocks are used as centerpieces and bring a presence of spirituality to the garden. According to the Shinto tradition, rocks embody the spirits of nature. Gravel defines surface and is used to imitate the flow of water when arranged properly. Stones create a boundary and are sculpted into the form of lanterns. Water; whether it is in the form of a pond, stream, or waterfall, is an essential part of a Japanese garden. It can be in the actual form of water or portrayed by gravel, but no matter what, it is crucial to a Japanese gardens balance.

There are several forms and types of plants that are signature of Japanese gardening, the main one being Bonsai. Bonsai is the art of training everyday, average plants, such as Pine, Cypress, Holly, Cedar, Cherry, Maple, and Beech, to look like large, old trees just in miniature form. These trees range from five centimeters to one meter and are kept small by pruning, re-potting, pinching of growth, and wiring the branches.

A garden is a wonderful place to relax and meditate. Whether it is a Japanese garden or Western world garden, designing, building, and planting is a great family event.

When buying fertilizer for your flowers, there are two basic approaches. Either of these methods is satisfactory and the approach you take will depend upon the types of flowers you have. The first approach is to have your soil analyzed and give your flowers the precise nutrients they need as determined by the results of the analysis. Very often you can have a sample of your soil analyzed by your local county extension office for a small fee, but the most convenient method of testing is to purchase a simple soil analysis kit from your local garden center and purchase flower food based on the results. This method is very effective and will undoubtedly give you the results you hoped for, although it does take some extra time and effort.

The second and most convenient manner of feeding your flowers is to choose a multi-purpose, balanced fertilizer that contains a full spectrum of plant nutrients. There are many brands of all-purpose flower food. One of the more popular brands is Miracle Gro. Most professional gardeners will attest to the effectiveness of Miracle Gro, but in most cases any brand of flower food will be just as effective if used properly. No matter the brand you choose, use the fertilizer according to the directions on the package. In the case of fertilizers, more does not translate into better. If you over-feed your plants you could cause damage to the roots or even kill the plant completely.

Some flowering plants will grow excess leaves rather than flowers if given an excess of nitrogen. Select a fertilizer formulated especially for flowers to avoid this problem. Any type of bloom-booster flower food will solve this problem. Remember that when you feed your flowers, mix the fertilizer exactly as specified on the package or simply purchase ready-to-use flower food to avoid any mistakes. Also keep in mind that the flower food should not be placed directly on the leaves or flowering parts of the plant. Fertilizers are designed to feed the soil surrounding the plants. You could cause severe damage to the plants if you get the fertilizer directly on the leaves or flowers. There are some types of flower food that will not harm leaves or flowers, but make sure you read the directions carefully so that you will know the effects of getting the fertilizer directly on the leaves or flowering part of the plant.

Azaleas can be either evergreen or deciduous. Deciduous Azaleas are known as Mollis or Exbury Azaleas. They bloom in the early spring with vivid orange and yellow colors. They can be grown from seed if the seeds are collected in the fall and sown on top of moist peat at about 70 degrees F.

Evergreen Azaleas are known as broad leaf evergreens because they do not have needles. They bloom later in the spring, and are usually propagated in the fall over bottom heat, discussed in detail at http://www.freeplants.com . Rhododendrons are also broad leaf evergreens and are also propagated over bottom heat in early winter.

The best time to prune Rhododendrons and Azaleas is in the spring right after they bloom. These plants start setting next years flower buds over the summer, and late pruning will cost you some blooms next year, so get them pruned as soon as they finish blooming. Its also a good idea to pick off the spent blooms so the plants dont expend a lot of energy making seeds, unless of course youd like to grow them from seed. But keep in mind that they dont come true from seed.

Seeds from a red Rhododendron are likely to flower pale lavender. Cuttings ensure a duplicate of the parent plant. How do you prune Rhododendrons and what does pinching a Rhododendron mean? These are frequently asked questions.

Pinching is a low impact form of pruning that is very effective for creating nice, tight full plants when you are growing small plants from seeds or cuttings. Typically a Rhododendron forms a single new bud at the tip of each branch. This new bud will develop into another new branch, another bud will form and the process will continue. If left alone this will produce a very lanky plant with a lot of space between the branches, forming a very unattractive plant.

So if you are starting with a plant that is nothing more than a rooted cutting all you have to do is pinch off this new growth bud as soon as it is about 3/8 long. Just grab it between your fingers and snap it completely off. When you do this the plant usually responds by replacing that single bud with two, three, or even four new buds in a cluster around the bud that you pinched off. Each one of these buds will develop into branches and eventually a single bud will appear at the tip of each of these branches, and of course you should come along and pinch each one of those off, forcing the plant to produce multiple buds at the end of each of these branches.

The more often you pinch off these single buds, the more branches the plant will form, making a nice, tight, full plant. This is especially helpful with young plants such as rooted cuttings or young seedlings.

But what about larger plants, how do I prune them? I prune mine with hedge shears!!! I just have at it and trim them like I would a Taxus or a Juniper, and guess what? The result is a very tight compact plant loaded with beautiful flowers. My Rhododendrons are so tightly branched that you cannot see through them, and that is the result of vigorous pruning with hedge shears. Sure you can use hand shears, and youll have a nicer plant because of it, but I just use the hedge shears because thats the tool that I happen to have in my hand as I am going by.

Keeping Rhododendrons and Azaleas healthy and happy is as simple as understanding what they like. First of all, they like to grow in a climate that suits their tastes. Many varieties of both dont like it in the north, and to prove the point they will up and die as soon as extreme cold weather hits. Buy plants that are known to be hardy in your area.

Here in zone 5 (northern Ohio) the following Azaleas seem to do well: Hino Crimson (red), Stewartstonia (red), Herbert (lavender), Cascade (white), Delaware Valley (white), and Rosebud (pink). Hardy Rhododendrons include Roseum Elegans (pinkish lavender), English Roseum (pinkish lavender), Nova Zembla (red), Lees Dark Purple, Chinoides (white), and Cunninghams (white).

How should you fertilize Rhododendrons and Azaleas? These broadleaf evergreens are laid back and like to take it slow and easy. Do not fertilize them with quick release nitrogen fertilizers, it could kill them. Instead give them an organic snack, like Millorganite or well rotted cow manure or compost. Millorganite is an organic fertilizer made of granulated sewage sludge.

No, it doesnt smell any worse than other fertilizers, and plants like it because it is plant and soil friendly. It wont burn the plants, and it actually reactivates the micro-organisms in the soil. Thats a good thing. Most full service garden centers carry Millorganite.

A long time ago somebody let the word out that Rhododendrons are acid loving plants, and people are always asking me if I think their struggling Rhododendron needs more acid. The answer is no. Your struggling Rhododendron probably needs a great big gulp of oxygen around its root system.

Rhododendrons do not like wet feet. They dont even like high humidity let alone wet soil around their roots. They like to be high and dry, and like an unobstructed flow of oxygen to their roots. You can accomplish this by planting them in a bed raised at least 10 with good rich topsoil. They will be smiling from branch to branch.

A few years back my friend Larry and I had several hundred small Rhododendrons that we were going to grow on to larger plants. We planted most of them in Larrys backyard which is fairly good soil, but a little sticky. We didnt have room for all of them so we planted the last 105 down the road from my house in a field we were renting. (Never heard of anybody renting a field? You should get out more.)

This had absolutely no water for irrigating and the soil was very dry and rocky. Other plants at that often struggled during the dog days of summer due to the lack of water, but those Rhododendrons were as happy as pigs in mud. They outgrew the ones at Larrys house by twice the rate and we sold them years earlier than the others.

My point? Rhododendrons dont like wet feet. They do well in the shade, but contrary to popular belief they do even better in full sunlight.

The first historical accounts of walnut trees growing under civilized cultivation was in ancient Babylon (Iraq) about 2000 B.C.; however, walnuts have evidently been attached to mankind much earlier by excavations from cave fossils as suggested by archeologists. There is a reference point in the Biblical record in the Old Testament, that King Solomon was growing nuts (identified as walnuts by some translators), however, the likelihood of these nuts being other than almonds is very remote, because of the almond nut image that was used as symbols commonly in Hebrew icons and stone carving displays in Jerusalem inside Solomons temple. The adaptability of almonds is much more likely for almond trees to succeed than for walnut trees in the climate and soils of Israel.

The Greeks were credited with the first certified improvements in the size and quality of the Persian (Iran and Iraq) today called English walnut trees through selection and cultivation. The Romans soon established the Persian walnut trees throughout most of Europe and much of North Africa, that have most popularly become known today as the English walnut trees.

English Walnuts, Juglans regia, were brought into the United States by Spanish missionaries in the early 1800s by Franciscan monks, who settled along the California coast. Because the English walnut orchards, that were rapidly established in Central California came from the seeds planted from those walnuts that grew in the Catholic missions, the walnuts were sold and distributed under the name Mission Walnuts.

Central California walnut tree growers today produce 99% of the total U.S. commercial walnut supplies of English walnuts. This production capacity of California also produces 65% of the world supply of English walnuts.

Famous chefs of the world use walnuts in many types of cuisines including meats, vegetables, desserts, and soup preparations. A world famous dessert--made from walnuts, honey, and paper-thin, buttered, flakes of crusts--is called Baklava.

Important commercial types of walnuts that are grown today for profit are Juglans regia, the English (Persian) walnut, that is mainly grown and produced in the United States. Trees can live to an age of approximately 60 years and grow to about 60 feet tall at maturity.

Black walnut, Juglans nigra, a native walnut tree in America is grown mainly from New England to Minnesota and Nebraska and southwards down to the Gulf of Mexico. The black walnut tree can grow to a height of 60 feet and can live past 100 years. Black walnut trees have been grown mainly for their value in making expensive furniture; the nuts are harvested in considerably large quantities to use in baking, ice cream, and in candy recipes. The nuts can be easily shelled into large pieces if soaked overnight in water. The nuts are known for their crunchy flavor, which is distinctively spicy and enriched in its oil content.

Butternut or White walnut, Juglans cinerea, is genetically closely related to the black walnut, Juglans nigra, that forms oval shaped nuts, with a thick corrugated shell, 2 inches long with white kernels; richly flavored and preferred by many people to have a superior flavor over other cultivars of walnuts. The white walnut can grow 100 feet tall with a life expectancy of 75 years. The white walnut tree is the most cold hardy of all walnut trees, growing vigorously in zones 3-9. The roots of these trees, like black walnut trees, will exude a poisonous chemical that kills other plants (phytotoxic) growing nearby, thus other vegetation does not grow well if located within 80 feet of the trunk of the tree. The tree has a broader, leafy canopy than other walnut trees, but the wood is soft and inferior.

Walnut kernels are universally known to contain many antioxidants that offer health benefits and will lower cholesterol in the body, thus lowering heart damage from disease and cause a dramatic reduction of fatty coagulants in veins and arteries. The leaves have been used as a laxative since antiquity, as well as to induce vomiting, stop bleeding, stop diarrhea, as a cure to many skin diseases and herpes, and to kill human internal worms. Walnut hull extracts have been used to treat liver problems, to kill ringworms, and to help lose weight. Walnuts are highly beneficial in providing all of the Vitamin B series, Vitamin E, and many minerals that are beneficial to keeping a healthy body.

Walnut hulls have found many uses in a powdered state as a metal polish, as a thermal insulator in rocket nose cones and as a mysterious, secret ingredient in womens cosmetics. Walnut tree extracts have been used for centuries to make ink and dyes. The Egyptians used walnut kernel oil to embalm mummies by replacing the blood with walnut oil.

Greek mythology records that Carya, (the Latin genus name for walnut), who fell in love with the Greek God, Dionysus, was transformed into a walnut tree at her death. The wooden walnut columns (and later, marble) at the Acropolis that stand above the city were transformed into her human image (catyatides) that today can be seen by tourists in Athens, Greece.

Luther Burbank in 1893 introduced fast growing walnut tree hybrids that only required 15 years of growth to reach maturity, rather than the usual 50-60 years of growth. One hybrid he named, Paradox walnut tree, Juglans x Paradox by crossing the English walnut tree, Juglans regia, with the California black walnut, Juglans hindsii. This walnut tree is used as a grafting understock for commercial cultivars. Royal walnut tree, Juglans x Royal, by crossing the American black walnut tree, Juglans nigra, with the California black walnut, Juglans hindsii. This walnut tree still today produces almost a ton of nuts per year.

Other minor species of walnuts include the Heartnut walnut tree, Juglans ailantifolia, that is as hardy as the American black walnut, easily grown, very productive, especially after the trees grow older. It bears strings of nuts sometimes 30 or more in a single cluster that hangs down 1 foot in length. The kernels of these heartnut walnuts drop out into a container completely intact when the thin shells are cracked. Luther Burbank felt that this walnut was an intermediate variant of the Japanese walnut. The Manchurian walnut tree, Juglans mandshurica, was introduced as a variant of the Japanese walnut during the Civil War of the United States. The flavor of these nuts is considered spicy and superior in taste to other walnuts, while being crunchier. These trees grow to 100 feet tall or more and are cold hardy from zones 5 to 10. This walnut tree produces a staple food crop in Korea (Manchuria). Many excellent food products are available using the nuts from this walnut tree.