Foliage Garden

THE ZEN GARDEN

Imagine that it is late morning in the heart of one of the most frenetic and densely populated cities in the world. It is hectic and noisy, as all cities are at that time of day, and exhaust fumes hang lethargically like a haze... But, believe it or not, we are aware only of the sound of birds, the crunch of ground underfoot, and the rustling of leaves.

You might be surprised to learn that we were in Tokyo - in Hibiya Park. This park with its flawless planting, amazing canopy and vast swathes of cool green dappled light, was the inspiration for our next garden.

When we moved eight years ago, our plot of land - irregular in shape and listing gently - was completely bare. It was the perfect canvas with nothing but a beautiful, ancient stone wall defining our boundaries. There we were with the unique opportunity to plant anything we wanted yet we knew right from the outset where we were heading...

The plot we have isn't large but eight years down the line the seventeen trees we've planted are maturing well. It's a foliage garden and it is beautiful all year round. We have no grass and very few flowers but an abundance of interesting shrubs, wonderful textures and almost every shade of green you can think of. There's plenty of colour too: from the black grasses to the acers which range from acid green to burgundy; from the peeling white bark of the birches to the flaming red of the dogwood once the leaves are gone... And, then there are the berries. It is constantly surprising and it is changing all the time.

This garden, like all gardens, is like a microcosm of the world we live in. It embodies in a gentler, more nurturing way, many of the hope and dreams, successes and failures we face every day. There before your eyes is the full cycle of nature, from birth to death and every stage in between. There is something about planting and tending which makes your soul sing. I feel this way, whether it’s a tiny cutting on my window sill or when the trees comes into leaf each spring: I watch with wonder, and trepidation, to see if we’re made it through, and for the most part, we have…