The technology behind (or under) the garden

This page shows a brief overview of the technical aspects of, and the technology used in the garden.
If you want to know and see all technical details have a look at 4 - Constructing the Infrastructure chapter and the 5 - Build and construction of the integral design in the Specifics on the realization of Tsubo-en chapter under the "Realization" menu option.

The drawing below shows that not all is as romantic as it seems.
Mostly well hidden under the surface this section shows some of the hidden network and technology behind the underlying infrastructure.

With our pure sea-clay soil, in an attempt to prevent the Ginshanada, gravel area, (silversand open sea) from becoming a pond or even a lake, it has been well drained during the construction (see drawing above).
Also a weed control fabric (barrier cloth) as a ground-cover (in Dutch anti-root-cloth) without wrinkles is indispensable, not only to separate the gravel from the soil and sandy bottom but also to make life miserable for weeds and vermin (See: Ground levelling, Drainage and Soil enrichment).

	This is the pump that supplies the sprinkler installation with a maximum of 5000 liter per hour. The water is coming from the waterway (ditch) at the The water front (back side) compartment, that separates the garden from the golf course. During the winter the pump is stored in the garage. In spring it gets re-installed and needs an initial feed of water.
	In an attempt to hide the pump from the eye we place this bench over it. To see all details, see Watering supply and irrigation or sprinkler-system in the Constructing the Infrastructure chapter.
	One of the well hidden sprinklers.
	This is a power-sprinkler. It covers a large area, including the The main garden O-karikomi, and hence needs a high location. It has a radius that reaches about 12 meters (40 feet). When not used it is covered with a black container. This protects it against the sun-rays and hides it from sight.
	More technology well hidden in the groundcovering plants. To the left a sprinkler (see below) to the right one box that contains a circuit breaker to cut-off three of the sprinklers. The other box hides a tap where a garden-hose can be connected.
	Nature does part of the hiding itself. After the winter period we need to clear the sprinklers from the creeping plants.
	Back again after the winter recess.
	An this happens when the pump is switched-on.
	The tsukubai in its summer appearance. The photo's below show however that it involves technology to let this work and yet look natural. To see all details, see Constructing the Main Tsukubai and Turtle Island lakes.
	The closed water-proof box in which the power outlet and timer are protected from rain and hidden under the duckboards (see Constructing the Veranda and Duckboards). For more details see Lighting and garden electricity-system in the Constructing the Infrastructure chapter.
	This shows the work required after the winter recess. Fill the tsukubai with water and connect the power to the pump. The water container that holds about 40 liters of water is hidden under the tsukubai. See Constructing the Main Tsukubai and Turtle Island lakes.
	The water switches that connect the sprinklers to the pump. This also offers an extra tap to connect a garden hose in support of the manual sprinkling of the plants and area's that are not covered by the sprinkler-system.
	The housing that contains the transformer, light-sensitive switch and timer for the flood-lights. For more details see Lighting and garden electricity-system in the Constructing the Infrastructure chapter.
	This construction is required to prevent that the gravel disappears in a black-hole, where it touches the wall. See: Ground levelling, Drainage and Soil enrichment for details.
	In addition to the gravel area drainage we have a number of drainage pipes laying in the Tsukiyama, in particular for draining the main garden O-karikomi area. These are not as such under the gravel area but laid in the tsukiyama soil. See: Ground levelling, Drainage and Soil enrichment for details.

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