MA: The Japanese Art of Pause - And Why Your Garden Needs It
In Japanese aesthetics, MA (間) refers to the space between things - the pause, the breath, the quiet interval that gives shape to everything around it. It’s the blank page that makes the words readable. The silence that makes the music move you. The stillness in a garden that lets your body soften and your shoulders drop.
In the West, we often equate “cosy” with “more”: more cushions, more plants, more colour, more detail. But true comfort doesn’t come from clutter it comes from calm. And calm depends on space.
Gardens are no different. When we overfill them with plants, ornaments, focal points, or competing ideas the eye becomes busy, the mind becomes busy, and the landscape loses its ability to soothe us.
MA reminds us of the opposite:
A garden doesn’t have to be full to feel alive.
What you leave out is just as important as what you put in.
Why Pausing Creates Calm (The Science Bit)
Our brains are constantly scanning the world for patterns - symmetry, contrast, movement, places to rest. In a crowded garden, the eye has no single place to land, so the mind keeps scanning and scanning. This is stimulating, but not settling.
In a garden with MA, the eye finds rest points.
A stretch of open lawn.
A quiet shadow at the base of a tree.
A single sculptural shrub against a simple backdrop.
These pauses activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the part of us responsible for settling, grounding and restoring.
Put simply:
Your garden can either speed you up or slow you down.
MA is what slows you down.
How to Create MA in Your Garden
Three simple, powerful design tips
1. Give Each Area a Clear Purpose (and let the rest breathe)
One of the most common mistakes I see is trying to make every corner “do something.”
A dining zone, a veg plot, a herb garden, a firepit, a wildflower patch… all squeezed in because we think we “should.”
Instead, choose fewer, stronger ideas and give them space around them.
Ask:
→ What is this area for?
→ What is unnecessary here?
→ Where is the pause?
If every space has a job, your garden becomes a to-do list.
If every space has intention, your garden becomes a sanctuary.
2. Introduce Negative Space on Purpose
Negative space is simply space without stuff. But in Japanese design, it’s considered an element in its own right.
In gardens, this might look like:
A clear stretch of gravel or lawn
A planting bed with deliberate gaps
A simple wall behind a single beautiful tree
A pause between garden zones
These quiet areas act like deep breaths in the landscape. They sharpen the beauty of everything around them.
Think of it this way:
A rose is beautiful - but a rose with space around it feels sacred.
3. Create Gentle Rhythm (not strict repetition)
Our eyes relax when they can move through a garden without interruption.This doesn’t mean matching sets or predictable patterns, it means introducing subtle echoes that help the space feel connected, rather than chaotic.
Think of rhythm as a whisper, not a pattern.
You might create it through:
A plant that reappears in different beds
A drift of grasses that creates a soft sweep through the space, connecting zones
A limited palette of greens and textures that feel harmonious
Materials or shapes that repeat lightly from one zone to the next
It’s less “copy and paste,” more “a familiar note you hear again’. This kind of rhythm settles the eye and makes the garden feel calm without becoming formal, rigid, or overly symmetrical.
