A Taste Of Tokyo

This beautiful Japanese garden has brought a touch of the Far East to Treales

- Linda Viney

Who?

Linda Kidd is a single mum of two boys. She was introduced to gardening by her grandfather and her father was also a keen gardener who gave her a small patch where she even had her own small four foot square greenhouse so she could grow plants from seed.

When she left school she went into farming. Once her sons had left home she worked in a garden centre and read up on Japanese gardens to ensure her planting and design were as authentic as possible.

What and where?

In the picturesque village of Treales, near Kirkham. Initially the 30x60ft garden was a family garden with a football pitch for the boys, now it is a stunning Japanese garden with the elements of a courtyard garden, stroll garden and tea garden.

What’s to discover?

The basic concept consists of plants, rocks and water to create an air of tranquillity close to nature. The first area is the Courtyard Garden where cloud-shaped trees and acers are grouped in pots along with a stone Buddha. On the other side a large Fatsia makes a statement and a Moon Gate leads to the first of two ponds, this one guarded by a heron depicting the start of life soaring up to the end of life.

A Moon Bridge – so called as it reflects in the water as a moon – was built by a local joiner and is painted black in the Japanese tradition. These ponds and stream took Linda a year to dig out and her hard work now adds to the tranquility in this garden.