Author Topic: DIY ideas for backyard garden/landscaping (Japanese styles)  (Read 1252 times)

ObviouslyNotAGolfer

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Looking at bare dirt now with some decent shrubs surrounding the periphery for privacy.

I have zero experience with landscaping, but I would like to experiment with it. If it does not turn out great, it will be a learning experience and a chance to try something else. I want to keep things quite simple and cheap to start!

I am not going to put in a lawn (not on your life), but am interested in ideas/plans/guides for setting up some type of small Japanese/Zen rock garden with perhaps a little bonzai and/or a little fountain/waterfall. I am not going to do a koi pond now, but may in the future. 

Does anyone have experience with these types of landscapes? I suppose I could just buy some small pebbles, a rake and a bonzai, but how do you contain the pebbles so they don't disperse and get everywhere? I am not big on digging a basin and lining with cement.

What about those little fountains/waterfalls I see at various places? Some of the cheaper ones have loud motors, which would drive me nuts. I just want to hear a little, relaxing trickle of water, not a motor. (I have freakishly sensitive hearing--my ENT of 40 years in teh business said the best ever!) How much does one need to spend to get a durable little fountain that can be easily switched on and off?

Thanks for any ideas.


« Last Edit: June 12, 2018, 11:27:28 PM by ObviouslyNotAGolfer »

Meowmalade

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Re: DIY ideas for backyard garden/landscaping (Japanese styles)
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2018, 05:19:43 AM »
I'm working on landscaping our yard with a Japanese-inspired aesthetic, myself!  Luckily I was able to find rocks in the back to use in the front to form a border around existing plants, but maybe you could make a rock border and also use them to hold down some landscape cloth.  My handyman said the cloth prevents weeds from coming up and in your case, would keep the pebbles from disappearing into the dirt.

lthenderson

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Re: DIY ideas for backyard garden/landscaping (Japanese styles)
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2018, 09:16:32 AM »
but how do you contain the pebbles so they don't disperse and get everywhere?

Whenever I have a bed with any sort of rock, I buy heavy duty plastic edging. I will post a link below that looks exactly like what I get but I get mine from a different local source. I bury it in the ground so that the mower deck can run over the top to make it easy to mow. They make splice attachments for it so you can join pieces end for end and it looks like one solid piece. It can bend in fairly tight radius and with a torch, can be heated up to bend even tighter. All I use to install it is a spade and a hammer for the stakes along with a hacksaw to cut to length.

Similar to this:

https://www.amleo.com/black-jack-poly-lawn-edging-bundle-of-five-heavy-duty-edging-kits/p/452CE/?kc=amlshop18n,&mkwid=s4pyfOlfw|dc&pcrid=252706014943&pkw=&pmt=&plc=&prd=452CE&gclid=CjwKCAjwpIjZBRBsEiwA0TN1r53G0Wr_WYkuAd81zh1PCU8KE2ZNHCxaU9vhVHJNoadTFQy5X_AFVhoCvdAQAvD_BwE

 

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