However, it’s quite easy to find ready-trained varieties in garden centres, saving you a job. When it comes to bonsai, all kinds of trees can be trained. They are just trained in slightly different ways!įor niwaki, popular evergreen varieties to choose from include box, Japanese privet, or pine. Surprisingly, whether bonsai or niwaki, the genetic size of the trees’ does not differ – as said by the RHS (opens in new tab). Whilst niwaki refers to trees planted in soil, bonsai goes smaller again, for tiny trees grown in pots. You may also have heard of bonsai, often used in Kazuyuki Ishihara’s award-winning gardens. Jessica Smith, of Flower and Land (opens in new tab), informs us that ‘niwaki tree’ translates into ‘garden tree’, and is when ‘trees are grown and pruned to be scaled down, to fit into smaller spaces.’ In karesansui, the plants provide a backdrop or small flourishes around the rocks.’ 2.

‘In many cases, the rocks are seen as more important than the plants in the garden, as in karesansai, or dry gardens. ‘Stones are often selected or arranged to represent mountain ranges, cliffs, or rocky outcrops, or just because they are particularly beautiful. ‘Japan is a very mountainous land and is blessed with many different rocks, but rocks are heavy, so usually a garden is constructed with local stone,’ says Jake Davies-Robertson, Botanical Horticulturist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (opens in new tab). Light, small-sized gravel works well, and then, using a hand-held rake, create swirls and lengths of patterns – get creative! You can change the raked design every time, depending on how the mood takes you. Larger rocks can be used to resemble mountains, or islands, rising from the ‘water’ below. ‘Think raked gravel instead of grass, to interpret water ripples,' she adds. They are ‘a place of retreat to reset after a day in our busy modern lives.’ ‘Japanese rock gardens are all about embracing calm, balance and mindfulness,’ says Jessica Smith, gardener and florist of Flower and Land (opens in new tab).

Japanese zen garden