“They spent the first visit standing in our backyard and asking what we see from the kitchen window. The garden they drew started there.”
Stephanie B.Southeast Portland
Japanese-inspired gardens in Portland
A garden to sit still in
Sasaki Garden Studio designs and builds Japanese-inspired gardens for Portland homes: stone, moss, water and pruned trees, planned for our rain and kept through all four seasons.
Design principles
Six ideas behind every plan
Before we draw anything, we hold the yard up against these. Each is short, and each changes what we build.
Ma, the space between
Empty ground is part of the design. We keep gravel raked and lawn out of it, so the stones and trees have room to be seen.
Miegakure, hide and reveal
A path bends before it shows you the pond. You meet the garden one view at a time instead of all at once from the door.
Shakkei, borrowed scenery
A neighbor's cedar or a ridge on the horizon can be the back wall of your garden. We frame it and plant to keep it open.
Fukinsei, uneven balance
Stones and shrubs go in threes and fives, never matching pairs. Balance comes from weight, not from mirror images.
Wabi-sabi, beauty in age
Moss, weathered stone and softened wood are the goal, not a flaw. We pick materials that improve after a few Portland winters.
Shizen, natural but never wild
Nothing is planted in a row. Every shape is chosen and trimmed, then left to look as if it grew there.
Season by season
The garden through the year
A garden like this is never finished in one season. Here is what each one asks, and what we do.
Spring, March to May
Moss greens up in the rain and the maples leaf out. This is the season to shape what winter hid.
Pinch the new pine growth, called candles, in late spring
Prune azaleas right after they bloom
Rake gravel back into its lines and weed before seed sets
Restart the water feature and check the pump
Summer, June to August
Portland's dry months are the hard ones. Moss and young maples need water more than anything else in the garden.
Water deeply at dawn instead of a little every day
Mist moss in a heat wave and shade young maples in the afternoon
Top up basins and ponds
Keep pruning light: shaping, not big cuts
Fall, September to November
The best planting window and the best color arrive in the same few weeks.
Plant trees, shrubs and moss as the rains return
Thin old pine needles by hand
Lift fallen leaves off moss and gravel with a soft rake
Clear drains and check edges before the wet months
Winter, December to February
Bare branches and stone show the bones of the design. A quiet season with a few jobs that only work now.
Prune dormant maples and fruit trees before the sap rises
Check steps and paths for slick patches and plan the fixes
Clear drains and basins after storms
Walk the garden with us and plan spring work
The studio
Eight people, one plan, the same hands
We are a small design and build studio in Southeast Portland. Kimiko Sasaki draws every plan, Kenta Miyamoto sets the stone, and Hana Maeda prunes and plants.
The crew that draws your garden is the crew that builds it, so nothing is lost between the plan and the ground. We take on a few gardens at a time and stay for the first year.
A drawn plan and written scope before any work starts
Stone chosen by hand, with you, at the supplier
A visit at the turn of each season in the first year
Kimiko Sasaki
Founder and lead designer
Gardens
Stone, water and moss
Sample photos.
How it works
How a garden gets made
Five steps, in this order, with the same people at each one.
- 01
A walk through the yard
Kimiko or Kenta spends about an hour on site with you. We look at light, drainage, views and how you use the space.
- 02
A plan you can read
A drawn plan of stone, planting and paths, with a written scope and cost. We go through it with you and change it until it is right.
- 03
Choosing stone and trees
You come with us to pick stones and trees by hand, because each one is different and placement is half the work.
- 04
The build
Ground and drainage first, then stone, water and planting. We protect the rest of your yard and clean up each day.
- 05
The first year
We come back at the change of each season to prune, adjust and show you what to do, and what to leave alone.
Clients
What they noticed
“Kenta set every stone by hand and moved two of them after we walked the path. I would never have known to ask.”
Erik S.West Linn
“Hana showed us how to rake the gravel and when to leave the moss alone. It is the first garden I have not felt I needed to fix.”
Tiana P.Sherwood
Sample reviews.
Our area
Three counties around Portland
From the east side's old streets to the west hills, we work wherever the yard can hold a quiet garden.
Multnomah County
- Portland
- Gresham
- Troutdale
- Fairview
- Wood Village
Washington County
- Forest Grove
- North Plains
- Sherwood
- Tualatin
Clackamas County
- West Linn
- Boring
- Oregon City
- Happy Valley
- Wilsonville
We do not work outside the Portland metro area. That means no Vancouver, Washington, no coast and nothing south of Wilsonville.
ZIP codes: 97202, 97206, 97211, 97212, 97214, 97215, 97217, 97232, 97239, 97030, 97060, 97024, 97116, 97231, 97140, 97062, 97068, 97027, 97045, 97015, 97070
Questions
Before you call
What decides the cost of a garden?
Size, access to the yard, slope, the stone and trees you choose, and whether there is water. We do not quote by phone. After the visit we write the scope and cost together, with a materials list and what is not included.
How soon can you start, and how long does it take?
It depends on the season and our schedule. At the visit we tell you when we could start and how long we expect the build to take, and both go in the written plan.
Are you licensed and insured?
Oregon licenses landscape contractors through its Landscape Contractors Board. Our license number and a link to the board's lookup page are in the footer of every page, and a certificate of insurance is available on request.
What happens at the first visit?
Kimiko or Kenta walks the yard with you for about an hour. We look at light, drainage, slope and the views you want to keep or hide, and we ask how you use the space. You get a written plan afterward, not a number on the spot.
How do I pay?
Payment is in stages that follow the work, and the schedule is written into the plan before we start. Ask us at the visit which payment methods we take.
What about rain, frost and the dry summer?
Wet weather pauses stonework and planting on some days, and we say so up front. Planting is best in fall, and in summer we plan around heat. We confirm the timing for your yard in the plan.
Tell us about the yard
A few lines is plenty. Kimiko or Kenta writes back to set up a visit.
Phone(503) 555-0100
Hours
- Monday – FridayToday
- 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- SaturdayToday
- By appointment
- SundayToday
- Closed