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bethesdagardendesign

Making an Asian inspired garden from a neglected side yard

www.BethesdaGardenDesign.com

This is an example of bringing the outside in and the inside out, as this mid-Century modern house is all glass on the side looking into the garden. An Asian inspired garden gives the homeowner the serenity they wanted to see and feel from their living room as well as when they're in their yard.

A dry river bed snakes its way through the entire garden, while a natural looking stone path and wooden bridge go right through the center. Plantings of Japanese forest grass and other shade tolerant plantings provide a mix of textures and color.

After (top photo)

Before (bottom photo)

Comments (22)

  • 11 years ago

    WOW this is Gorgeous !! Thank you for the wonderful idea for the side of our house !

  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Go for it! By adding the curved dry river bed, it actually made the side yard seem a lot bigger.
    Glad you like it.


  • 11 years ago

    WOW WOW WOW. beautiful job

    Bethesda Garden Design llc thanked sacapuntaslapioz
  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Beautiful!

    Bethesda Garden Design llc thanked The RTA Store
  • 11 years ago

    That is gorgeous!

    Bethesda Garden Design llc thanked jasnas14
  • PRO
    11 years ago

    What a unique outdoor space. Great work!

    Bethesda Garden Design llc thanked Kemora Landscapes
  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Lovely!

    Bethesda Garden Design llc thanked Design Intervention
  • 11 years ago
    last modified: 11 years ago

    where do you purchase the large round rocks.or did you get them from a creek lol

  • PRO
    11 years ago

    My back's not THAT strong. I got the rocks from a local rock quarry. They were sold by the pallet.


  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Nice work. I like the flow of the dry riverbed. It will be really nice once the plant material has had a few years to establish and fill in.

  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Thanks. You're absolutely right. This is a newly planted garden which will take 3 years to really fill-in.


  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Beautiful !


  • PRO
    11 years ago
    So nice and inspiring, serenity and relaxation are now in this backyard.
  • 11 years ago

    wonder how much the large rocks are from the rock quarry

  • 11 years ago

    is that mulch around the rocks or gravel

  • 11 years ago
    Really sweet. Do tell where you found the bridge?
  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Cherri, in answer to your questions, all of the rocks were purchased from a local rock quarry. Also, I did put mulch around the rocks. Gravel could work too, if there is an edge along the path to keep the gravel in place and the mulch from spilling out onto the path. In that case I like using a nice metal edge. For this project, however, I didn't want the look of a metal edge because it would have interrupted the 'organic' feel of the path blending into the surroundings. Please let me know if you have any follow-up questions.


  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Those bridges are readily available online. Look for a cedar 'garden bridge' without railings. They come in varying sizes, starting at 3'. The one I used is 4'. You shouldn't have any problems finding them, but if you do - let me know.

  • PRO
    11 years ago

    Beautiful!

    Bethesda Garden Design llc thanked Architectural Stonescapes
  • 11 years ago

    I love it. So Zen.

  • 11 years ago
    Very beautiful, well thought out landscape idea! Great job!!!
    Bethesda Garden Design llc thanked Teresa Johnson