The Chinese garden concept runs back to 3000 years. A China garden consists of massive sort of landscapes as well as miniature gardens. Usually, these gardens are surrounded by walls, and most of them have built-in ponds. If you are interested in learning about the Chinese garden concept, we have some valuable information to share with you. Let’s get started.
The History of the China Garden Concept at a Glance
As we mentioned, the Chinese garden concept has a history of over 3000 years, and former emperors and government officials, and other professionals in the country had built their gardens based on this method. Since these gardens were built by notable personals, they were always kept in enclosed environments.
When you deeply explore this traditional gardening concept, you can see two major types of gardens; for animals and plants. However, we are not talking about animal gardens in this article. Also, such a garden is not the most practical out of the two if you are thinking of building one.
One of the interesting facts about a Chinese garden is that you hardly have the opportunity to see the entire garden at once. This means you have to walk around the full premises to witness the beauty and all surroundings.
A China garden is a combination of lots of small scenes, and every view is unique and has different elements compared to another. In addition, some of these gardens include certain elements that you can’t see in a conventional backyard garden; a view of a mountain is a classic example of this.
Buildings in a Chinese Garden
Another notable thing about these gardens is that the architecture and the buildings. Actually, one can easily say who owns the premises by the look of the garden and its buildings. As an example, you can see a library in a scholar’s garden.
Moreover, all the buildings are connected with hallways, and each building has unique viewpoints. Although a China garden has a number of architecture and natural elements, the owners have always concentrated on giving number one priority to sceneries rather than these buildings. However, the bigger the garden gets the more buildings it has.
Elements of a China Garden
Apart from the buildings, there are loads of other elements in a China garden to blend the beauty. Here are some of the commonly found features that you can consider having if you are planning to build such a garden.
Rocks
If you come across a garden without stone elements in it, it would not be a Chinese garden. The design and the creations depend on the owner’s choice. Some prefer small stone creations, and others opt for miniature Rock Mountains with the help of a collection of stones. In fact, there are certain Chinese gardens with Rock Mountains with a small pavilion on the summit.
Water
As we stated at the very beginning, water has a special place in a Chinese garden. Usually, there will be one or a few ponds with small bridges adding a more spectacular look. A well-designed pond can increase the look of the space, and water is essential to feed the surrounding plants as well.
These ponds generate outstanding reflections, and you can build a bridge over a pond to spend some quality time on them, relishing the reflections and views on the water. Most big gardens have small lakes instead of ponds, which is just an awesome feature of a garden to have if you can afford sufficient space.
Plants
A Chinese garden contains a considerable amount of plants including, aquatic, annuals, bamboos, and many others. These plants and how they grow are very much unique, and you cannot expect them to be in the shape of English or French gardens. The choice of plants resembles something that the Chinese believed throughout their History.
For example, you could find Scotch pine trees in most Chinese gardens; it presents longevity and survival struggle. Moreover, owners usually consider the shape, color, and fragrance of the plant to match their intentions and the outlook of the garden.
A common view of a Chinese garden is a pond full of lotus along with a lotus pavilion. The combination is just divine, and it brings kind of a calming influence to the mind. Also, the Chinese tend to choose some plants that make unique sounds when rain falls on them. This is another out-of-the-box strategy that most modern-day gardeners rarely think about it.
Importance of Bamboo Trees to a Chinese Garden
If you have ever walked near a bush of bamboo, you would how soothing is the wind bamboo trees create. Chinese knew how to make the most out of it, and bamboo trees are kind of a must-include plant sort in a Chinese garden.
There are various types of bamboo trees, and you will have to pay attention to the size of the garden when selecting them. This is because some bamboo plants tend to grow up to 30 meters, which can be problematic if you are dealing with limited space.
In addition, bamboo is a versatile tree. Chinese use shoots of bamboo to prepare a bucketful of dishes, and as you would know, bamboo is the favorite of Pandas. In addition, they use bamboo trees to produce day-to-day life objects and even use them to build the buildings around the garden. So, it is a no-brainer why the Chinese choose bamboo trees for their garden.
Also Read: How to Grow and Care a Bamboo Garden.
Conclusion
So, what do you think about Chinese gardens? We hope you can picture the perfect garden in your mind and plan without much of a fuss. Creativity is the main factor as far as we are concerned as most of the features and elements of a Chinese garden are not typical and introduced to the world by strategic Chinese people. If you are willing to put the thinking cap on, the options and opportunities are limitless. So, would you build one in your backyard? Please comment below. Have a great day!
