We hear a great deal about “fusion” cuisine, which combines traditional foods of different cultures to form fabulously flavoursome new dishes. Garden design has also evolved to cater for modern tastes and lifestyles, mainly by morphing into low maintenance, minimalist planting schemes that look good year round. one garden style rarely deviated from is that of a traditional Japanese garden. It was therefore a surprise to come across Koji Ninomiya’s Japanese garden at the Ellerslie Flower Show earlier this year.
Koji Ninomiya owns and operates his own perennial plant and garden-design business in Japan, but he is best known for his outstanding achievements at international flower shows. Koji has been on the flower show circuit since his design “The Honda Tea Garden” won gold at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1995. This success catapulted him into a role that involves designing exhibition gardens and judging international garden shows, including judging at Ellerslie Flower Show for the 10 years prior to his first-ever Ellerslie exhibit.
Although Koji is a master of authentic Japanese garden design, more recently he has presented a completely new style of East meets West, an interesting fusion combining the traditional elements of a Japanese garden with those more commonly seen in Western-style gardens.
Koji’s Ellerslie garden, entitled “Sei Sei Tei 11”, was based on a traditional dry Zen garden – in essence a meditative space using dry materials to symbolise water cascading from distant mountains to the sea. The Western twist came in the form of contemporary influences such as modern walling materials, flowering cottage perennials and more relaxed planting. But the underlying symbolism of a miniature landscape remained present in the form of strategically placed rocks signifying mountains and expertly raked pea gravel representing waves in a large body of water.
one of the primary aims in Japanese garden design is to provide a sense of interaction with nature. This is considered vital to reach a higher point of spirituality, as well as to instil a greater sense of calm and wellbeing. Although many elements are symbolic of a larger landscape, it’s paramount that they’re created from natural materials and in keeping with the scale of the garden. The composition must also be asymmetrical, as it would be in nature, yet balanced. A common design tool is to the triangular placement of elements, as was the case with the placement of the main rocks in Koji’s garden.
While his garden was unmistakably Japanese, it was the planting that set it apart from authentic design. It contained plenty of the usual, including a backdrop of bamboo behind the tea house, deciduous trees (considered essential to mark the seasons), plus conifers and rhododendrons.
The rest of the planting was much less structured and far more varied than usual. Low-growing ferns, star jasmine, viburnum and colourful nandina were used throughout. Swathes of bright red Japanese blood grass (Imperata rubra) and black mondo grass provided a contemporary influence, while variegated hostas added delightful contrast in both colour and texture. Japanese anemones, scabiosa and ground-cover geraniums – highly atypical – also introduced splashes of colour.
Koji admits that blending the two styles in one garden was a challenge. But he felt “Sei Sei Tei” (which, loosely translated, means “clean, pure and refreshing”) did that by achieving the delicate balance between honouring the traditional values of Japanese Zen garden design, while at the same time meeting the requirements of today’s modern lifestyle. oost importantly, the garden retained a sense of harmony.
Judging by the mesmerised audiences I witnessed, I’d say he did a sterling job. Arigatou, Koji – we hope you return!
FooTNoTE
It’s said that a truly authentic Japanese garden can only be created by a person who follows the age-old principles of Japanese garden design. If you’re keen to give it a go yourself, do your research and work to incorporate these key elements : Simplicity, quiet, calm, reflec tion of nature, appropriate scale, asymmetry, balance and the use of empty space.