Japanese Style Garden Plant Ideas

The type of plants and flowers you put into a Japanese style garden will vary from one garden to another. Many people mistakenly believe you're supposed to use very showy, exoctic looking plants in a Japanese style garden, but this is not always the case.

True Japanese garden plants are those which compliment the area around the garden. So showy or exotic plants would only fit properly into a Japanese style garden which is located in an area which is exotic and showy naturally. If you live in a mountain region, your Japanese garden will have mountain style plants, flowers, trees and shrubs. Likewise if you live in a wooded area, then your Japanese garden will feature plants which grow naturally in the woods.

This is a difficult concept for many Americans to understand, because it's so flexible. The whole goal of a Japanese style garden is to blend in with, compliment, and enhance the surrounding natural elements. Because of this, there is no one specific look, list of plants to use, or design layout to be used. Each Japanese style garden is unique to the area it's constructed in.

With that said however, there are some plants, flowers and trees which are considered to be Japanese in style, thus many people like to include these plants into their Japanese style gardens.

Planting bamboo in an area of your garden for instance, will give it a Japanese feel. There are different varieties of bamboo plants which can really add color and interest to your garden too. The Nandina, or Heavenly Bamboo, has very colorful foilage for instance, and bright red berries.

Trees and shrubs such as Japanese maples and yews are also favorite Japanese garden plant ideas. Almost any type of ornamental grass, evergreen shrubs and trees, or deciduous trees are also popular plants for Japanese gardens. Choose trees and shrubs which have interesting colored bark, or those which create unusual or striking shapes.

Since stones and rocks are very important elements in any Japanese garden, planting varieties of moss in shady areas and to grow over the stones makes a wonderful accent area. Creeping thyme is also an excellent plant to put on slopes or between the pathway stones of your garden. Dichondria is another plant which works wonderfully planted between the pathway stepping stones, and it holds up better than moss in dryer areas of the garden.

You might also want to dedicate part of your Japanese garden for planting herbs which are traditionally used in tea too. Tea gardens are one of the three main types of traditional Japanese gardens, so putting herbs and tea plants into a section of your garden will help give it that extra Japanese design style.

Azaleas are a popular plant choice for Japanese gardens too. These plants are evergreen, which means they'll keep vital color in your garden throughout the winter, and they also provide splashes of bright color when spring comes.

And of course since it's your Japanese garden, if you do want more showy or exotic plants then by all means, scatter some of your favorites about the garden as well.