A Japanese Garden for Terry Endo Smith

FIELD NOTES:

Terry found us by searching online for Asian inspired gardens. We are so thankful she found us as this was a great project. Not only was it enjoyable, but to actually design and install a Japanese Garden for a Japanese American! She wanted to use California Native plants instead of traditional plants. Terry told me at the beginning she was much more of a Berkeley kind of lady---environmentally conscious to the core. As we became friends, this was certainly apparent. Her commitment to California native plants, finding local materials, and water saving irrigation were all so inspirational to us. A real blessing. I do believe we learned as much as she did during this project.

She and her husband, Christopher Smith lives in a lovely Master Planned (Private) community called Coto de Caza in Orange County, California. During our first meeting and consultation we all shared a love of natural California and classic Japanese gardens. We have designed Orient inspired gardens before, but this would be the first based on Traditional Japanese design principles. I have studied Japanese gardens in my travels to Asia, in Europe and in the United States. That said, I still had more studying how to properly create a space that honors such tradition. Terry loaned me a few of her favorite Japanese Garden books, plus I purchased a few myself. We were familiar with the Japanese "look", but I needed to understand the basic and advanced principles. After reading and studying I felt we would be able to accept this project with confidence.

Our first official task was to prepare a "concept" and a Preliminary Master Plan. This would show the basic layout of the garden and how the family requirements were organized within the design of the landscape. After meeting for several hours we all agreed our approach was indeed a good one. We then proceeded with the Master Plan for the garden which included The Planting Design. We were asked to use at least ninety percent California natives; and, no plant could have any toxic properties. They have two doggies that enjoy the garden as well. One other requirement was to have a grassy area for their dogs to use for relief and play. Selecting California natives would certainly be a challenge, as they tend to all grow quite large. And we didn't want to have an overgrown mess in three years. We took plenty of time to select the proper plant for each specific area, keeping in mind classic principles of Japanese garden design and how each plant would mature.

After the Master Plan was accepted by the clients, our design had to then be approved by the Coto de Caza Architectural Committee. The plans were accepted in full. Below you will see some of the photo from the garden. There are still a few tasks left to do, like paint the white perimeter walls our signature "black iron" color. It is brand new, and since we used California Natives we installed each in small sizes so they could establish themselves. Eventually there will be much more green. Enjoy!