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| Trees and plants give the Japanese garden its unique ch aracter. While the European garden is colorful and diverse with its trees, bushes and flowers the Japanese garden is predominately green with its almost exclusive use of evergreen trees. When flowering trees are found in the Japanese garden they are usually camelias, specifically the tsubaki and sazanka. |
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| The Japanese garden was not always monochrome. The classical Japanese garden of the 10th to 12th centuries contained cherry and plum trees in addition to pines and willows. Ornamental flowering shrubs were common not only in the garden but also in the inner courtyard. |
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However, the influence of the Zen sect and watercolor painting from Southern China transformed the colorful Japanese garden in the Middle Ages. Flowers, flowering plants and shrubs came to be regarded as signs of frivolity and were replaced by evergreen trees that symbolized eternity. |
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