Includes index

Introduction -- Growing conditions -- Spring / Tsurumi Railway Station -- Ma and Mu -- Mount Fuji -- Stonemasons -- Cherry blossom -- Side Street, Otsu -- Lake Biwa Canal -- The Philosopher's Walk -- The tea cermony -- Tea Garden, Kennin-ji -- Camellias -- Kenroku-en -- Kodai-ji -- Ikebana -- Sanzen-in -- Rocks and gravel -- Ryogen-in -- Entoku-in -- Water -- Osawa Pond -- Fujimori Tea House, Tokusho-ji Temple -- Tofuku-ji -- Tatton Park -- Autumn / Rikugi-en -- Maples -- Kyu-Furukawa -- Kokedama -- Greening Tokyo -- Tree-ness House -- Pit-Stop Garden Centre -- Fuyo-en Bonai -- Niujho Castle -- Moss -- Matsuo Taisha Shrine -- Ginkaku-ji -- Bamboo -- Murin-an -- Tairyu-Sanso -- Pines -- Adachi Museum -- Azaleas -- Kenroku-en revisited -- Acknowledgements -- Index

The complement to the forthcoming BBC2 series, Japanese Gardens, beautifully produced in full colour and with over 200 photographs. Written by Monty Don with photographs by Derry Moore, the duo behind the highly-acclaimed Paradise Gardens. Traditional Japanese gardens combine aesthetics with ethics, beauty with philosophy in a celebration of the natural world. A Japanese garden is the natural world made miniature: rocks represent mountains, ponds represent seas. Natural and man-made elements combine to create a garden that, while natural, is not wild. In this very personal and lyrical exploration of both the traditional and the modern aspects of Japanese gardening, Monty Don takes a look at the traditions and culture which inform some of the most beautiful gardens from all over Japan. This beautiful, full colour book guides us through the history and beauty of Japanese gardens, from the famous cherry blossom season to the magnificence of autumn colours