Mum’s the word in this serene and green Japanese-inspired garden that shows respect for the simplicity of nature in its many forms.
A shared appreciation of Japanese design made the creation of this Wabi Sabi-inspired garden a true labour of love for ecodesign founder, Adrian Swain. The garden belongs to Adrian’s mum, a student of Wabi Sabi, a Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty in simplicity, authenticity, imperfection, and the natural cycle of growth and decay.
When Adrian’s mum moved into the townhouse she was faced with a neglected 1990s garden. It was covered with old, dated pavers and overgrown garden beds invaded by running bamboo that had grown under the fence from the neighbouring property. “You couldn’t even see the back fence to see how much space there was!” says Adrian.
“Mum had travelled to Japan on multiple occasions, touring to better understand the Wabi Sabi aesthetic. I had also studied Japanese garden design and enjoyed hearing about mum’s adventures and, in particular, how she had loved the Philosopher’s Path in Kyoto,” he continues. “This is a world-famous walking trail comprised of a canal-hugging stone path that is lined by glorious cherry trees.
“We started formulating a design around a teahouse-styled pavilion that would create a garden room. The pavilion was to incorporate a solid concrete foundation and planter walls to act as a root barrier to keep out the running bamboo. The planter walls were clad with Tiger Skin stone and capped with wide blackbutt timber planks and bluestone to create feature sitting walls.”
The planters are home to espaliered camellias and shade-loving tropical plants, combining classical European-style horticultural techniques with modern lush foliage plantings. The inclusion of a Zen serpentine rock garden on one side of the pavilion and a Japanese water bowl feature on the other completed the vignette.
“We appropriated a Chinese moon gate to provide a transition from the side garden to the rear lawn and pavilion,” adds Adrian. “The moon gate incorporates a custom-made hardwood trellis finished with Black Japan stain and varnish. To give it a green surround, we planted Stephanotis floribunda, which produces fragrant white flowers.
“The side garden can be entered either via the moon gate or the front gate to which we added a Japanese open-gate pergola to define the entry point. Between the two gates is a Philosopher’s Path of sorts which is made of organic stepping stones, dark river pebbles and a slab of slate.
“A new ornamental Japanese-style fence was built using hardwood which, when viewed with the borrowed landscape of the neighbour’s running bamboo, adds to the oriental styling for the landscape. A matching brick fence was installed to replace a rotting timber wall and fence.”
Providing a cool space for entertaining, verdant garden beds and effortlessly flowing spaces, the elegant simplicity of this project captures the essence of Wabi Sabi, providing places of peace and a strong connection to nature.
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