Niwa Design Studio

Unlike the decks of years past, there are now a number of decking products to consider when decking your deck. We have used redwood, cedar, pressure treated, ipe and tiger decking for our deck projects. We are not going to tell you which one to choose, but do want to help you learn more. The decks being built today have come a long way when compared to the decks of the early 1980s. Clients are hiring us to design and build decks with a creative touch, wanting more than a simple wooden rectangle.

When designing a deck and landscape project we decided to incorporate a half wall and planter to create and define space and circulation. We also wanted to have a sculptural focal point within the planter. The planter also sat right where an old light post was removed during the demolition phase of our project. The selection of light fixtures is important when designing a landscape lighting plan. This is especially true when choosing path lights. We sometimes select simple fixtures that quietly stand adjacent to sidewalks, pathways, patios, steps and other areas in our landscape projects and in other cases we decide to make a statement.

If you are interested in Japanese gardens you should know that the most common plant shape found in Japanese gardens is the tamamono, or "dome" shape. It is the easiest and and perhaps the least expensive way to add more Japanese style pruning to your garden. When visiting a Japanese garden you will see this.

Grasses have a found their place in our gardens and yards. Their grace and beauty provides an aesthetic appeal throughout the summer, fall and winter. These easy to grow low maintenance plants produce pretty rustling sounds and provide graceful textures. Technically any grass that is not grown as turf is considered an ornamental grass.

Niwa Design Studio applies its knowledge of Japanese garden design principles to a Frank Lloyd Wright home near Still Water, Minnesota. Niwas client, who owned an original Frank Lloyd Wright house plan, hired an architect to help interpret the plan and construct the home on the shores of a Minnesota lake. The mountain scene entry garden. Our local governments love it when we think Green and incorporating a Rain Water Garden into a project is doing just that. Traditional Rain Water Gardens can look great if planed and maintained properly.

If you are looking for a green landscape around your house and you are not able to spend lots of time looking after the garden and, evergreens are a good choice. Properly selected evergreens are easy to care for and can provide year round interest. Arborvitae is excellent evergreens that are suited for our Minnesota. Although we do not have bamboo planting options for our projects here inMinnesotawe can use bamboo poles for a variety of projects. We have used bamboo poles for water features, screens, fences, gates, handrails, ceiling treatments, trellis structures and pathway borders.

The shoe removal stone, or kustu-nugi-ishi, literally is the stone you stand on when removing your shoes before entering a Japanese home. These stones are generally found in the foyer of the home or adjacent to an engawa, or veranda, where you access the garden from the home. The shoe removal stone also delineates where. This garden entrance is flanked with a pair of beautifully carved limetsone shigu. Shigu is actually a Chinese word used to describe the type of sculpture shown in the picture. Although the bases are actually unfinished the detailed carving of the dragons, foo dog heads and the phoenix or mythical fire birds.

It is good to know that one of the best things you can do for your garden or landscape is mulching. This practice has been use for many years, but is a bit of a new topic for us. Here are some amazing facts about mulches. What are these Mulches? Mulches are the materials that.

Karesansui, or Japanese dry garden, literally means dry mountains and water. Whether you are looking to design and build a Zen style garden, dry pond or dry stream the common element is the use of rocks and gravel to simulate water. Maybe you are interested in a large open courtyard garden with raked sea gravel. Our local governments love it when we think Green and incorporating a Rain Water Garden into a project is doing just that. Traditional Rain Water Gardens can look great if planed and maintained properly.

When designing your garden and selecting the edging for your project consider making a bold and distinctive border by introducing multiple edges. These may be poly edging, steel edging, aluminum edging, wood or stone with a variety of material between them. This is often seen in Japanese gardens, especially near engawa, or verandas, where the.

Although we do not have bamboo planting options for our projects here inMinnesotawe can use bamboo poles for a variety of projects. We have used bamboo poles for water features, screens, fences, gates, handrails, ceiling treatments, trellis structures and pathway borders. Bamboo can compliment everything in our western landscapes from a deck to a pond. An early step in the design process of any project is to take an inventory of the sites existing conditions. In addition to studying the sit you need to understand where your property lines are, setbacks, local codes and other criteria that is not visible.