Peppa Pig’s chill-out zone
The calming new Japanese garden that’s set in a very unusual location
ROLLERCOASTERS, a log flume and a vertical-drop ride are just some of the attractions that draw in thrill-seekers to one of the country’s top theme parks. But there’s a surprising new feature at Paultons Park that provides an escape from the high-octane action: a Japanese-inspired garden.
Located in the centre of the 140-acre park – which is also home to Peppa Pig World – the space boasts a temple, moon gate, a winding stream crossed by arched bridges, and scores of authentic plants.
The £170,000 project took ten months to complete and was built specifically to provide visitors with a change of pace. ‘Japanese gardens have a calming quality and this is the perfect spot for people to take a breather from some of the noisier and busier parts of the park,’ says head gardener Dawn Imlach, 40, who designed the plot.
Although the Japanese garden can be entered from all sides, the logical starting point is through the huge red moon gate, a circular opening that provides enticing views into the garden beyond. From here, the eye is drawn along a winding path set with stepping stones to an ornate pagoda.
A real grass path would wear out quickly – the park in the New Forest attracts more than a million visitors a year – so Dawn has opted to use more durable artificial turf.
Either side of the moon gate are beds filled with a rich assortment of trees, shrubs and perennials. Japanese maples, bamboos and hardy bananas (Musa basjoo) are underplanted with heuchera, black dragon grass and painted lady ferns.
Painstakingly clipped forms of plant are an important element of Japanese gardens. There’s no shortage on display here, from a trio of different-sized box balls to curvaceous shapes of pittosporum. An ordinary box tree has been transformed by cloud pruning, turning it into a living sculpture.
The main part of the garden is dominated by a red pagoda. It sits at the edge of a circular space covered with resin-bound gravel. ‘Traditional Japanese gardens would use loose stones raked into elaborate patterns, but ours needs to be lowermaintenance,’ explains Dawn.
Nearby is an Oriental meditation gong and several seating areas. They look as if they’ve been chiselled by an artisan but are actually wire shapes covered with spray-on concrete and finished by hand to give a mossy, weathered look.
To help people relax, speakers have been installed so traditional Japanese folk music can be heard throughout the garden. It may sound a bit cheesy, but it does add to the atmosphere.
Apart from the Japanese garden, there’s plenty more to excite garden lovers at the theme park. There are impressive topiary shapes in the Victorian garden, lots of architectural exotics and annual bedding displays. The park itself sits in parkland that was originally landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th Century.
MY FAVOURITE part of the Japanese garden is the 130ft stream that starts in a pond dominated by a copper fountain in the shape of a tree. As it flows down the garden, the narrow waterway passes under three arched bridges before entering a pool featuring a Japanese maple copper fountain.
In my opinion, water is an essential part of any Japanese garden. Of course, not everyone has room for a stream or pond full of koi carp. However, there are plenty of alternatives for those looking for something more compact, such as a stone basin fed by a bamboo water spout.
The banks of the stream are dotted with a fabulous selection of plants including Japanese blood grass, Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’ and hostas. Height comes a wedding cake tree (Cornus controversa ‘Variegata’) and heavenly bamboo.
Perhaps the most interesting species is Sophora japonica ‘Pendula’, a rare tree with elegant, cascading branches. Commonly known as weeping Japanese pagoda tree, it was first seen in Shanghai by Scottish plant- hunter Robert Fortune in 1853. The tree boasts feathery foliage that turns yellow in autumn.
Given that it has only just opened, the Japanese garden looks remarkably mature. This is largely because older plants were selected over younger specimens. ‘We can’t wait years for things to grow – we had to plant for instant impact,’ says Dawn.