Landscaped gardens, like this one on Mingalar Street, Insein township, can provide the owner with a quiet and peaceful place to relax.

YOU have a nice house in a good location with a perfect view but the garden is small. What will do? You might end up asking yourself: “How can I create a beautiful and soothing garden for this small space?”

The good news is that there are plenty of experts in Yangon and the major cities across Myanmar who can handle your needs.

Ko Aung Khant Kyaw, owner of Shin Than Chin landscaping, says the first consideration when putting together a garden is grass. Consumers, he says, can choose either an expensive or cheaper option depending on their needs.
“If the area is small, it is best to go with the more expensive grass because you won’t need a lot and maintaining it won’t be a problem,” he says.

The more expensive grass – which is also known as Japanese grass – will cost K25,000 for a 10-square-foot area, compared with only K3000 for the cheaper variety.

“The cheaper grass is more appropriate for big gardens,” Ko Aung Khant Kyaw says.

Another consideration, he says, is the type of trees used within the garden and those with small areas should steer clear of large trees.

“We need to check whether or not there are big trees that are likely to throw shadows onto the grass because it needs a lot of sunlight to grow properly and look good,” he says, adding that big trees also took too much space.

He says that in his opinion small gardens are not suited to ponds either but the company is willing to do whatever the customer wants.

“If a customer really wants to have a pond we can make it happen. For example, we can do a small pond with a cute little waterfall that we’ll decorate with some fake water lilies and stones.

“The cost for this will range from K100,000 to K300,000.”

For Ko Thein Min Aung, co-owner of Green Villa landscaping, the important thing when landscaping a house and garden is to thoroughly investigate the location beforehand.

“We need to check if there are any buildings around the house we’re landscaping. We also need to know the building’s height, the dominant wind direction, where the sunlight is coming from and if there are any tall trees we need to consider.”

“If there is an existing large tree in the garden then we cannot put in another one; in fact we have to do the opposite. We have to choose grass or bushes to complement what’s already there.

“The architecture and layout of the house plays an important part in our planning process too,” he says.

Ko Thein Min Aung suggests that there are rules that should regulate the use of water features when landscaping a house.

“In landscaping, there is a rule: People should be able to hear the sound of their water feature. Owners must feel like they are staying near a beach or river,” he says, adding that decorating the water feature is critical.

“We can also add seasonal flowers to water features and only ever use real ones.”

But he warns that most gardens require significant upkeep and simply having them landscaped is only the first step.

“It’s really important for people remember to look after the garden they’ve just had put in because many people simply forget. After-sale service is also quite weak in Myanmar.”

Ko Thein Min Aung says home owners can add a layer of aromatic delight to their gardens by planting the right flowers.

“If your garden has all of these features it will be the perfect landscaped garden,” he says.

A representative from Tokyo Landscape Group says the company specialises in three kinds of gardens: Rock gardens, dry gardens and those build around ponds or water features.

“For rock gardens, we use a lot of stones and small trees that grow slowly. We also use grass to cover open ground.”

“For the dry gardens, we use stones, small sample houses and statues to fill the space,” he says.

The final option is a garden built around a pond or other water feature.
“Small ponds are in landscaping are great because they can completely transform a limited space.

“Some people like to put fish into the ponds for their children and others like to have waterfalls because they enjoy the sound of moving water.”

He says that these three styles are noticeably Japanese and have been developed over time because many Japanese home-owners are faced with a lack of space but want to have a garden.