Just realized i had "mean" in quotes that was unintentional I just mean the tag "Japanese garden"

It's not something that can be easily expressed in 25 words or less :-) The topic consumes entire books and often a full, dedicated course of study. Japanese garden design 'masters' typically study and apprentice for a number of years before being considered skilled enough to go out on their own.

A significant distinction is that there is a complicated philosophy behind Japanese garden design, both with regards to overall garden development as well as with the same degree of intensity to the different styles and to all the individual elements. Much of it is based on the Zen philosophy and the strong connection the Japanese believe we have with nature. And while the style does incorporate many of the same elements as western garden design, it includes several more specialized areas of consideration.

Because of that strong connection to nature, Japanese garden design is very hands-on and much more craftsman-like than technical. Japanese garden designers don't use CAD :-) I have never even seen drafted plans........at best just a few quick sketches of a general layout. The rest is designed more or less onsite, reflecting the specific nature of the setting and what materials are available and how they can be best used within that setting to create the designer's vision.

This is just barely touching the surface. If you are interested in the subject, then I'd suggest getting one of the excellent texts on Japanese garden design that are available and doing some studying. One that I find to be well-suited to westerners - not too technical but very informative - is Japanese Garden Design by Marc Peter Keane, a landscape architect who is perhaps the leading western authority and practitioner of Japanese garden design.

Thank you this explains a lot, I think I will look into them some more they sound interesting.