TRANQUIL BEAUTY
(continued from page 37)
OUR SETS STACK UP.
Sit back and relax.
Sling chairs that
stack, too.
4 chairs and a
48" glass top table.
All weather
frame and fabric.
Matching pieces
in stock.
suggested retail
$1,021.00
Sales ends May 16th. Excludes
prior sales. Merchandise may
not be exactly as shown.
Novi Town Center
(313) 347-4610
Grand River and Novi Road
Waterford
(313) 666-2880
M-59 near Oakland Airport
Patio Furniture
Mon, Thurs, Fri
10 am - 9 pm
Tues, Wed, Sat
10 am - 6 pm
Sunday
1 1 am -4 pm
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38 • SPRING 1993 • STYLE
Slezinski, who recently designed one for a tiny
courtyard entrance to a condo. But these Orien-
tal landscapes are also suitable for limited- space
town gardens in the city as well as for larger sub-
urban lots.
The basis of design in all Japanese gardens
is asymmetry, points out this expert (This is just
the opposite of symmetry which requires exact
balance of form on opposite sides of a dividing
line.)
Most important are viewing points, according
to Mr. Slezinski, who advises that one should be-
gin the garden plan by going into the house and
looking out the different windows.
In areas of the United States where one can't
grow true Japanese plants, choose local materi-
als with similar shapes and textures. The lovely
Japanese maples can be utilized in many parts of
this country. Mr. Slezinski has discovered that
Amelanchiers also work well. Some hardy peren-
nial grasses can be used as substitutes where
bamboos aren't available or can't be grown.
One can visit Japanese gardens in different ar-
eas of the United States and take notes on what
plants have been utilized. Mr. Slezinski recom-
mends a lovely one at the Nashville Botanic Gar-
den in Tennessee and another in Norfolk, Va., at
the Norfolk Botanical Gardens.
He also warns that Japanese gardens aren't full
of colorful flowers although there is plenty of col-
or at certain times of the year, particularly fall and
spring. They depend primarily upon a play of tex-
tures and forms.
Sound is also important, with running water
or the rustle of leaves high on the list.
As Mrs. Gordon sums up, "A Japanese garden
is a state of mind." El
RADON ALERT
After smoking, radon is the second leading
cause of lung caner, But only 10 percent of
homes have been tested for the gas, which
seeps from basement walls built on radon-
laced rock, and as many as one in 15 homes
may have radon levels above what the Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency considers safe.
The EPA recommends using a do-it-yourself
radon-detection kit to test your home. They're
available at home-improvement stores.
GROWING HOMES
It's true — houses are getting bigger. In
1986, just 53 percent of new homes were more
than 1,600 square feet. By 1990, 68 percent
were that size. The West boasts the most new
houses with more than 1,600 square feet.