LEARNING FROM THE BEST (Part 2) 

The careful thought, high-quality workmanship, and integration of nature’s beauty with daily life that characterize Japanese gardening culture also guide the vision and standards of Hanselman Landscape. For this reason, each company team member is continually trained in traditional Japanese gardening methods. This training is applied to every aspect of gardening, from design to maintenance.

Recently, Japanese garden expert, Doug Roth spent two days with the Hanselman Landscape team, providing hands-on training in garden design and pruning. Day one began with each team member standing in front of a tray of sand and a birdhouse with see-through plastic sides. The challenge: using the supplied sand and individually-selected rocks, create “gardens” that will be pleasing to the eye when viewed through the windows of the home (i.e. birdhouse). Every 30 minutes or so, the team members were instructed to move to a different tray “garden” and were given a new set of garden design requirements. On day two, under Roth’s watchful eye, team members practiced Japanese pruning methods on yet-unpruned trees brought in from the nursery. (See photos of both days, below.)

As a company, we are constantly learning the values of the Japanese garden tradition. We believe that regardless of the style of garden being developed, many Japanese garden techniques have universal application that result in high-quality, enduring gardens that delight and refresh.

Gladly shared by Betty HanselmanGardener’s wife (& Japanese garden advocate)