Characterized by such minimalist features as rock gardens and bonsai, derive an emotional recognition of nature from the visual transitions between simple geometric forms and symbolic detail.

In dramatic contrast to tropical or formal European gardens that effuse bright colors and patterns, the traditional Japanese garden thrives on a bare minimum of plants and other materials. Quiet pathways lead visitors throughout the garden, transporting all who enter into an emotional oasis where reflection, intuition and peace reign supreme.

Landscape artists, recognizing the value of location in a garden, pay strict attention to the most innocent of details-- making the most of connectors, fastenings, change of material, and carefully pruning and shaping plants to symbolize natural events like the four seasons, weather patterns, flowing streams, and fluid movement. Linear progressions throughout the garden serve as connections between an unpretentious formation of rocks, to a subtly reflective sculpture, or toward a pleasingly dwarfed tree.

Certainly, an awareness of nature's role in the landscape design of a peaceful Japanese garden fosters an even deeper recognition of the quiet delight found within a meditative refuge.