On deciding to build a Japanese garden at Barnsdale, the approach we took was to create a space that had the feel of Japan without being confined by the ropes of authenticity. This not only helped create the aura I wanted from this space, it also gave me the opportunity to use plants that would perform best, using materials that were more easily (and more cheaply) obtainable.
However, thiswoven throughout an authentic Japanese garden, it just allowed me to bend those precepts to fit the available space, and our desired look. In order to do this I researched what elements were important in this type of garden, how they were implemented and what they were made from, discovering that many materials could be sourced locally.
