Intermittently placed azaleas and crawling juniper soften the harshness of the gravel strip beside the house and lend a myriad of textures to the front lawn.

Gerald and Susan greatly enjoyed their newly remodeled, Japanese-inspired, two-story home nestled on a quiet Kailua road, but their bland front yard, consisting mainly of dirt and very little vegetation, fell short of their expectations. They wanted to create not only a buffer between their beautiful house and the road, but also an aesthetically appealing, low-maintenance space where they could spend quiet mornings relaxing and drinking coffee. Briefly considering planting flowers themselves, Gerald and Susan decided that, in order to avoid a generic look, they needed to hire professional help.

They turned to licensed landscape contractor and trusted expert Taro Takahashi, owner of Taro’s Garden, who completed an eight-year course of study in Japanese gardening in Japan. After graduating, he took a job at a company specializing in commercial landscaping, but soon found himself longing to do more hands-on work. “It wasn’t personal enough,” he says. In 2002, he started his own residential landscaping company, and today, he is still a complete, one-man crew.

Susan mentioned adding multiple levels to their front expanse, and Takahashi was soon hauling in large rocks from Waianae to begin the transformation. With Takahashi’s help, Gerald and Susan moved the rocks and plants into a harmonious arrangement resembling a miniature landscape. “The most challenging thing about selecting and maintaining plants, trees and rocks for a Japanese garden like this,” says Takahashi, “is keeping everything to scale.”

With this in mind, Takahashi chose to weave hardy, slow-growing plants like crawling juniper and azaleas among the large rocks and coarse gravel. “While fast-growing plants make the garden look busy, these plants will make the garden look calm and peaceful,” he says. A carefully sculpted jaboticaba bonsai tree as well as small ohia, dwarf bottlebrush and kokutan trees give the space an artistic asymmetry, while a Hawaiian orchid perched among a patch of river rocks acts as a centerpiece. “It’s great because it’s not a quick fix.  It will only get more beautiful,” adds Takahashi.

A Hawaiian orchid encircled by smooth river rocks adds a splash of color to this miniature landscape.

With their lawn overhaul complete, Gerald and Susan now have an attractive, low-maintenance space that allows them to spend their time as they wish. “The only maintenance is just coming out in the morning and leisurely picking off a few small leaves, and that’s pretty much it. There’s no intense weeding required,” says Gerald. He says his favorite thing to do now is to sit on the surrounding wall and relax.

A few blocks away, another pair of Kailua homeowners yearned for some visual interest in their backyard to complement their large pool and laid-back lounge and cooking area. The existing landscaping—a small patch of grass—was not living up to its potential.

Because this backyard consisted of two large focal points—the outdoor bar and the pool—Takahashi was able to implement a slightly more elaborate setup by installing a faux-bamboo water feature from Big Rock Manufacturing. He also added a Japanese-style, pedestal lantern as a counterweight to the tall water feature. “I often use Japanese lanterns as ‘supporting actors’ to give an interesting look to the garden,” says Takahashi. A nandina tree borders the space, its crowning flame-red and gold leaves creating a stark contrast to the surrounding stones and greenery. Takahashi cites this species as a great alternative to the Japanese maple traditionally used in Japanese gardens, which struggles in the Hawaii climate.

Again, in keeping with the tenets of Japanese gardening, Takahashi paid special attention to the positioning of both plants and ornamental figures. “Everything must be placed in the right position. A garden that is off-balance will create a sense of discomfort rather than peace,” he explains.

This new, focused, yet unobtrusive space lends tranquility to the backyard, even when the grandkids are splashing around in the pool.