Taking the botanical theme to the extreme this week with a post today about Japanese Garden Inspiration.

Must have plants on the brain anyway, because the flower shows season is kicking in soon. Here’s my third and final post – about The Japanese Garden in St Mawgan Village, near Newquay.

I can’t recommend visiting here enough if you are in this area of Cornwall. It’s tucked away and felt like a bit of a secret. I am sure it has hoards of visitors so we were very lucky indeed to be there when it was just our family. We walked around for ages finding new areas and plants.

I’ve always been attracted to this style of garden. I love the peacefulness  and areas for for reflection. I think it’s important not only for adults but definitely for kids too. We all need some time out of our busy lives and having water, rocks and plants close by – all natural -is  so very balancing and calming.

Having spoken to my knowledgable friend, Pim, about creating your own Japanese inspired garden, he told me that it is all about scale and representing a reduced landscape. For example – large rocks become distant mountains and raked gravel in a waterless garden represents the sea / river etc. A ground cover conifer would be a distant woodland.

A Tea Garden has classic elements, such as stepping stones, lanterns or a basin is to create a peaceful frame mind before a tea ceremony.

It’s a great idea for more compact gardens, I think – adding character with the different elements. In a more spacious outdoor area – wouldn’t it be dreamy to have a bridge ? Not so great if you have kiddies though but many ways to create your own personalised version.

Don’t you love the idea of a garden that really encourages you to relax and feel at peace ? A wonderful way to switch off and do some meditation even.

Visiting this place has solidified my desire for some similar plants and maybe even a water feature of some kind. According to Pim, most of these plants grow okay in the UK so that’s a good start.

It’s in the plans for 2016 so no doubt I will be blogging some pictures soon as we work won the garden. Of course, there has to be colourful elements added too. Would you expect anything else ? ;)

I already have some DIY ideas, Can’t wait to share !

Hope you enjoyed our little visit to the Japanese Garden ?  There’s also a Bonsai Nursery that sells these fab succulents in a glass container ( yes, I know it’s my second mention of them this week ! ) fabulous trees, Buddhas, wind chimes and kits for kids.

Have a good one. Hope you’ve enjoyed all 3 of my posts this week.

Lucy x