Gardeners Tips

Chinese Taoists or Daoists sought to recreate the vision of immortals who they believe live in the Mystic Isles. This perfect land was envisaged as a route to eternal life.
Taoism is a religion of nature where everything has its own spirit and deities reside in natural objects. So Taoists gardens reflect landscapes and gardens that are ‘works of nature’.

Components of a Taoist Garden

• Water is the core focus of these gardens. A central pool and or a stream and waterfall  provide a focal point.
• Pools should be a natural shape without straight edges or hard lines.
• Mountains are featured from rocks often one large rock. Each rock is carefully place to optimise its own spirit. Pitted stones and those worn with age are prized for use in grottoes.
• Buildings are important as a place to view nature from the best angle. Generally the buildings are clean simple or rustic structures. Imperial gardens were, not surprisingly, elaborate structures.
• Types of building and structures include verandas, pavilions, gazebos, covered walks, dry boats to extend over water and of course bridges.
• Borrowed views created by windows and pruning emphasis near and distant views.
• Contrast is key to providing good feng shui.

Objectives of a Taoist Garden

• Tao intention is to be the way the path or the road to truth.
• The ‘simple path’ to return to to the simplicity and naturalness  of the inner pulse of the Tao.
• The pools often contain Koi to help harmonise the mind to be at peace.
• If contemplating your own Taoist garden keep it as simple as practical and use nature in its basic and simplest forms.

Flowers and Plants are not Crucial

• Flora are chosen for shape and scent rather than colour. Plum or cherry trees for blossom and pine trees for height.
• Plants are used in symbolism. Peach trees represent immortality. Chrysanthemum long life and contemplation. Magnolia beauty and gentleness. Water lily truth and purity and bamboo represents the steps to enlightenment.

The seeds of Islamic gardens grew from Persian gardens that were created to be oasis in the desert. Islam spread the sphere of influence to India, Turkey, and Spain from the Taj Mahal to Alhambra.

Key Design Elements

• The objectives were to create a haven of order amongst chaos.
• A place to relax and understand the universe.
• Based on the significance of four items most of the designs are quadripartile.
• The four key elements include a boundary or enclosure generally of trees. Water channels dividing into 4 parts. A Gazebo or platform for poets to contemplate. Trees and flowers as a fourth element.
• To readers of the Koran, paradise is a land of rivers running with ‘milk, honey, wine and water.’
• In the Mogul gardens of India, Persian roses were one of the most sought after flowers

Moorish Gardens of Spain

• After conquering parts of southern Spain the Arabs brought their distinctive style of gardening. One of the most famous is the Moorish gardens at Alhambra.
• The entrances to Persian gardens often incorporated highly decorated buildings symbolising the gateway to paradise.
• Buildings and gardens were often integrated into one experience.

Considerations for Your Garden

• What symbolisation do you wish to convey. Plan accordingly.
• It is quite acceptable to incorporate other gardening styles. Some Asian gardens adapted various Hindu influences and European influences may be dictated by growing conditions.
• Think of a Persian carpet with neat squares combining into the garden space available.

Nature is both constant and changing in that it is always with us but seldom remains static. In times of stress, poor health and personal pressure aspects of nature are there to fall back on. Meditation and mindfulness have grown in popularity and profile in recent year but the benefits of a garden have been acknowledged for centuries. Gardeners Tips is opening a new category within our pages to look at different types  of garden, our  relationships with nature and a spiritual approach to show how each  constructively helps.

New Venture

• Over the last 10 years G. Tips has provided 2100+ pages of pictures, tips and sometimes idiosyncratic comment. We are not about to change the formula too drastically but hope the themed approach to new posts will be constructive.
• There is a cathartic result for the author when a post is completed, published and even better when it is read. For those who garden or consider nature in almost any form we hope they derive health benefits and peace of mind. So for the next decade we hope G.Tips lives on as do all the precious plants in your gardens.
• Tomorrow the first of our new posts will go back to the beginning and the Garden of Eden.

Just to break the ice and get going here is a short list of publications on the subject of ‘spirit’ that are available via at amazon.

Gardens of the Spirit 2019 Calendar: Japanese Garden Photography

A good photograph can lighten up your day and I have enjoyed various calendars over the years. You do not need to opt for an expensive version you can get as much satisfaction out of a DIY calendar. Do you remember the calendars we used to make at school with a small pad of monthly dates to stick at the bottom of a photograph or picture cut from a magazine. Good pictures and images invoke memory and can boost your spirit.

Contemplation may be at the heart of a spiritually orientated garden. Certainly it will involve landscapes and the ability to look and see. As the blurb on ‘Landscape as Spirit’ sets out:-

‘principles of Oriental and Western garden design to make bold and original statements in his landscapes. Mosko explains how to deploy the materials of the garden so that their arrangement reflects the contemplative mind. The chief paradigm he uses is the mandala, a symbolic picture of the ideal world used in some form in many of the world’s cultures. Rocks, streams, plants, paths, and structures of the garden each take their place in the mandala as one of its five elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. The means to produce a balance of these elements is the mind conditioned by meditation and a clear understanding of its own nature. Inner harmony is expressed as outer beauty.’

Sanctuary is one of the most basic human emotional need. We all need somewhere to retreat too when the need arises. Jessie Bloom’s book recognises this and adds:-

‘traditional plant wisdom to help readers find a deeper connection to the outdoor space they already have – no matter the size. Equal parts inspirational and practical, this engaging guide includes tips on designing a healing space, plant profiles for 50 sacred plants’ …

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