Plants for Japanese gardens
Japanese gardens create a sense of calm with a reserved colour palette and focus on foliage plants and delicate spring blossom. They tend to make extensive use of shrubs and trees, either evergreen varieties or those with brilliant, fiery autumn foliage. Japanese maple trees are an obvious choice, renowned for their graceful, dome-shaped growth habit, attractive palmate foliage and autumn colour. Azaleas and dwarf rhododendrons trimmed into neat mounds also have a distinctively oriental appearance, especially when studded with spring blossom, growing best in an acidic soil. Cherry blossom trees are the unchallenged queen or spring-flowering trees, emblematic of the start of spring time in Japan, while wisteria is the ideal choice for clothing large arbours or arches to add height to your planting scheme with fabulous sweet-pea like flowers in spring and early summer.