I live on the Oregon coast, this part of the world looks a lot like Japan, so it may be easier for me to learn from Japanese gardens than it is for gardeners in other parts of the world, but if you go beyond superficial appearances and look at how Japanese gardens are composed, everyone can learn from them. In her book Japanese Gardens , Irmtraud Schaarschmidt-Richter broke down the composition of traditional Japanese gardens into six elements. The flat surface plays a role which is similar to that of white paper in traditional ink paintings, in which the parts of the painting which are left blank are as important as the painted areas. Fountains are rarely used in Japanese gardens, the moving elements are usually waterfalls and flowing streams. Plants which sway or rustle in the slightest breeze can be included among the moving elements.
Japanese gardens are closely related to ink paintings, in which line plays a major role.
The edge of a pond is often the strongest line in a Japanese garden, and pine tress are often pruned to create striking silhouettes against the sky, even the needles are thinned to emphasize the graphic quality of these trees. Flowers play a minor role in Japanese gardens, so details are very important. The most obvious details are the lanterns and groups of stones, but it is the play of textures against each other which provide the most important details. Gardeners often focus on their gardens and ignore backgrounds. In many books about Japanese gardens, the Ryoan-ji garden is described as not having any trees in it, writers focus on the garden within the walls and ignore the trees which tower above the walls, the trees behind the wall are a very important part of this garden.