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Looking out at a Japanese garden situated at the base of Mt. Fuji, Japan's highest mountain.
People have been turning nature into gardens for thousands of years. In the name of gardening, they train flowers that were never meant to have trunks into trees and force plants to create hybrids that never would have existed. Japanese gardens, however, differ from common Western gardens that obsess over flowers and plants. As opposed to the elaborate tulip gardens of Keukenhof, Netherlands, or the manicured Rose Garden of the White House, Japanese gardens tend to leave more to the imagination and represent nature as it is. They value even those trees with twisted, gnarled trunks and don't shy away from rugged stones.
Simple yet stunning, Japanese gardens come in several varieties. Many people are familiar with the so-called Zen gardens (more accurately called Japanese rock gardens), but less so with other Japanese garden styles. This is unfortunate because Japanese gardens try to inspire serenity and introspection by incorporating symbolic and natural elements. In this article, you'll learn about five styles of Japanese gardens that may help you achieve a little more inner peace.
Keep reading to learn about the gardens that some people think look like heaven on earth.
