Stone Garden: Concepts of Oriental and Western Design

By J. A. Young

Zen Gardens - Stone Gardens - Italian Gardens - English Cottage Gardens

Landscaping and gardening with rock and stone adds distinction and interest to any property, but stone gardens come in distinct styles. Will your garden reflect an Eastern or Western style stone landscape? This article discusses elements of both Eastern and Western style rock gardens and how today's gardeners can incorporate rock and stone features to reflect their style of aesthetics.

When considering an Oriental style garden, it's helpful to think of elements and features that reflect or seek to imitate nature. A Japanese or Chinese rock garden is an excellent way to interpret many aspects of the natural world right in your own back yard. Conversely, a western-style or European style rock garden typically emphasizes man's dominion over nature; western style gardens showcase man's ability to tame nature to his design or plan. Both styles have created marvelous gardens. Your garden can incorporate stone into either style for dramatic results.

Creating an Oriental stone garden is ideal for any space. Even a stretch of land along an alleyway can conceivably be transformed into a small courtyard garden showcasing Asian design principles. Naturally, a large space will allow you to incorporate various stone and rock features for great effects. In Eastern style gardens, stone provides the backbone of the entire design. Think of stone as reflective of mountains in the landscape. Usually stone will be used in natural, uncut forms in these landscapes. For example, where a Western garden might feature a neat terrace garden on a slope, an Eastern garden will place large rocks haphazardly throughout the slope to reflect a more naturally occurring situation.

Japanese gardens regularly feature groupings of natural stones of various sizes. This might be a focal point, but it also works as a great border between sections of the landscape. Of course, Oriental gardens feature traditional borders like rock walls to great effect. Chinese gardens in particular make use of many walls to section off garden areas; in this way, each section is a separate outdoor room. Oriental rock walls often resemble rock piles and are seldom given a "finished" look the way rammed earth walls have in Western gardens.

Eastern gardens generally feature small rock elements as well. A rock with a dip to collect water becomes a simple basin for a traditional Japanese tea garden. A miniature rock wall acts as a support for a small cascade in a Japanese courtyard garden. If the garden happens to be in a dry climate where water is not easily kept, pools or streams of gravel can be installed to reflect the element of water even though it is not present. Stone can also be used to form Oriental bridges over true water features like creeks or ponds. Or, consider adding a few large rocks to your pond to jut above the water's surface like islands for a quintessential Oriental look.

Western rock gardens employ stone a bit differently. While natural stone features now occur in many Western gardens, traditionally rock and stone has been used in a more structured way. Traditionally, after the fall of Rome, stone was needed to create barriers in the form of walls. Monastery gardens were some of the first European walled gardens, but of course, think of medieval castles and you get a good idea.

Many medieval gardens featured a single stone focal point. This might have been used to house a water feature such as a bird bath or a basin. Modern Western gardens still use stone to create their water features. Many garden ponds are rimmed with decorative stones. Stone also is a prominent component of classical fountains that feature statues of figures from antiquity. Think of a Greco water nymph holding a jug where a stream of water flows into a basin that surrounds her. This is a typical use of stone in a Western garden.

Western gardens will also employ stone in very low-key ways. A pretty pool of white stone might be used to mulch an area that surrounds an ornamental tree. Stone might also be used as a simple border along the garden's path. Stone cut in geometrical shapes might even be paved for an elaborate garden walkway. Stone might be used more dramatically when carved into large-scale planters or a pair of lions that guard the garden's entrance.

Working with rock and stone is easier than ever given the wide array of types to choose from at home improvement or garden centers. Ornamental stonework is a beautiful way to decorate the outdoors, but stone features are usually quite functional for both Eastern and Western style gardens. Whichever style is right for your landscape, there will be a wealth of ways to showcase your durable features built to withstand the elements. Maintaining a rock garden in either style is sure to create an impressive landscape.