A place of beautiful serenity, a Japanese water garden provides a place for you to go where you can relax, think, and listen to and appreciate the nature around you. No doubt you have seen other gardens like this, but you can actually create one of your own in your back yard, which will allow you to enjoy it for many years.

If you live in a crowded noisy area, but have a backyard to work with, you can still have this type of garden. For you, proper placement and some natural sound barriers are important. Boulders can create a sound barrier that will drown out the sounds of passing traffic or noisy neighbors. Certain plants can also do that job such as the arborvitae variety of tall bushes. These bushes are typically inexpensive and create a nice looking natural sound barrier that can do the same job that boulders can do. These plants may start smaller, so it may take a few years before they become effective, or you can choose to purchase the taller, more established plants, but these will cost a little more.

The first thing that greets you as you step into a Japanese garden is the calmness and serenity of the place. The Japanese gardens reflect men’s efforts at harmonizing the beauty and force of the nature in an effortless fashion. With the essential presence of water body, thin streams, short bridges or artificial hillocks created with gravels and rocks; in the final shape the Japanese gardens become resonant with the mellow notes of spirituality and tranquility.

You can find three basic styles of Japanese gardens:

• Hill and Pond (Chisen-Kaiyu-skiki)

1. Copy Nature. A true Japanese garden is an idealised copy of nature that takes you on a journey in mind body and spirit. It.incorporates culture, symbols, religion and tradition. Traditionally, designers studied paintings of landscapes and tried to recreate such landscapes in simplified form.