Astral Health

Trees, known as ki in Japanese are as sacred to the Shinto religion as stones. Many varieties of trees appear in Japanese gardens, are very commonplace, but the most traditional are, camellias, cherries, and flowering plums  pines, maples, bamboo.  Ancient Japanese texts also make many references to orange trees and oaks belonging in otrue Japanese gardens.

 
 In Japan as well as in China, the pine, the bamboo and the flowering plum were considered the “Three Friends of Winter,” since the bamboo and the pine don’t lose thierleaves and needles through the winter months and the plum tree blossoms before snow melts. These  trees symbolize the faith, strength and endurance in the face of adversity.

 
The gnarled pine, twisted and bent by the elements during a long life, is a metaphor for the aged individual who has stood the tests of time and fate.  You often see this image in both Chinese and Japanese art. Japanese gardeners carefully train and prune evergreens to conform to this image of the ancient and noble tree.

 
The cherry, plum, and maple tree also play a poetic and evocative role in Japanese gardens and one of the most prized sights in a garden is a cherry or plum tree covered with blossoms heavy with snow.

 
You have to absolutely admire thesense of poignancy and melancholy to the garden, especially during the change of seasons.

 
Peace Be Still   Sam