For Takashi Kawamoto ...

A quick garden tour

 

[To my other friends: Kawamotosan lives in Kyoto and has one of the most

beautiful gardens in Japan. He is a very generous man: He showed me his

garden; he gave me books on Japanese gardens; he sent me plants; he

sends me pictures of his garden in all seasons! Best of all, he helped me get a

rain chain when my visit to Kyoto ended. He has inspired me to work on my

garden. I have prepared this tour so he can enjoy my garden as it looks today.

I hope you enjoy the tour, too.]

 

Looking East at the garden from the roof of my house

 

North Side

 

Click on the picture to find these features.

 

1. Katsura

2. Back Steps

3. Bird Bath

4. Stone Path

5. Zig-Zag Wall

6. Head Wall

7. Stepping Stones

8. Pond

9. Water Fall

10. Lower Prichard Wall

11. Cobble Stone Path

12. Hot Tub

 

 

South Side

 

Click on the picture to find these features

 

12. Hot Tub

13. Upper Prichard Wall

14. Prichard Formation Path

15. Cedar Steps

16. Snow Bell (Styrax japonica)

17. Japanese Red Maple (Acer palmatum)

18. Black Bamboo (Phyllostachys nigra)

 

 

Begin the Tour at the House

 

Looking to the north from my kitchen door ...

 

 

See the Katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonica) and the birdbath. Also É

The plants to the left of the birdbath are Siberian iris (Iris siberica)

The tree to the right of the birdbath is a Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thumbergeii)

My blue stone patio still has "X" joints.

I built my new fence from a picture of a house in northwest Kyoto. I like it very much. See it in the sunshine:

 

 

 

Walking towards  the Katsura, look to the east ...

 

 

See the Pond and Cobble Stone path.

This picture shows the route to the northeast corner of the garden É take the cobble stone path,

cross the water fall, walk along the stone path and go up the back steps.

I have no grass. I planted groundcover plants, but they are small. Someday they will cover all of the

ground, as you see in the next picture.

 

Stand at the Katsura and look south

 

 

See part of the Pond and the Lower Prichard Wall. Also ...

The large rock weighs 180 kg. I asked a friend to help me move it to the garden because machines

cannot be used here.

The rocks used for the pond are smaller. I moved them to the garden myself.

 

Look At the Pond

 

 

See the Zig Zag Wall and the Lower Prichard Wall. Also É

The large leaf shrubs are rhododendrons. The smaller one has beautiful pink flowers in Spring. The two

large rhododendrons have ugly purple flowers. I use these plants for shade. I can grow ferns and moss

under the rhododendrons.

 

Walk to the Waterfall on the Cobble Stone Path

 

 

See the Cobble Stone Path and the Stone Path. 

There is no bridge, so a visitor must step across the waterfall. The step is not long (50 cm).

There is a pump in the pond. The water flows in a pipe behind the rocks to a filter. The filter is hidden by

rocks. The water flows very fast into a pool. It pours out of the pool and over the waterfall.

The two plants are black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus nigrescens).

 

Turn Around and Look North

 

 

 

See the Stone Path and the edge of the Zig Zag Wall. Also É

At the end of the Stone Path is a stepping stone up to a large rock that is broken.

We call this the Viewing Rock, because it is a good place to view the garden.

 

From the Viewing Rock Look Southwest

 

 

The stream to the waterfall is visible.

The two evergreen trees to the right are Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa).

 

From the Viewing Rock Climb the Back Steps ...

 

And look to the south as you walk

 

 

See the Head Wall and the Stepping Stones.

I built the Head Wall from Pennsylvania Blue Stone like the patio. A brick wall is hidden behind the Head

Wall to keep the soil in place.

The pine tree is a called Taniyosho, (Pinus densiflora umbraculifera).

 

Take the Stepping Stones ...

 

And on the path, look west as you walk

 

 

See the Pond and the Zig Zag Wall. Also É

I do not like the Zig Zag wall, but I need it to hold the soil in place.

We painted it to match the color of the famous back wall of the Zen garden at the Ryoan-ji Temple.

The brown needles on the ground are from the cedar tree (Cedrus deodara) on the right.

 

Look Northwest From Inside the Hot Tub

 

 

See the Cedrus deodara on the right and the chimney of my house on the left.

From the hot tub we can see over our house to Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains.

The hot tub is a good place to watch the sunset in the evening. I can see ships in Puget Sound.

(I took this picture to reflect the tree, so the water of Puget Sound is hard to see.)

 

Daytime View From Hot Tub

 

 

See the edge of the Hot Tub deck and the Japanese Red Maple. Also ...

The walk is the Prichard Path.

I call this stone "Prichard" because it comes from Montana; its geological name is Prichard Formation.

It is beautiful stone because it has iron in it and looks rusty orange.

 

Walk to Middle of Prichard Path

 

Look east at the steps down from the hot tub.

 

 

The pine at right is a dwarf Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus nana), native to the United States. The rock

around the pine is also Prichard stone. I gathered it near my brother-in-law's house in Libby, Montana.

 

Look on the Opposite Side of the Path ...

 

 

See the Upper Prichard Wall. Also, É

This wall keeps the soil in front of the hot tub in place. I also gathered this stone from Libby Montana.

This wall continues the stone construction from the other side of the path.

The bamboo plant (Fargesia nitida) hides the electrical pole for the hot tub.

 

Look North

 

 

See the birdbath and the pond. Also É

This is the hillside above the 180 kg rock seen in an earlier picture.

The ground cover plants are short (8 cm).

 

Go downstairs towards the patio

 

 

These red flowers are impatiens (Balsaminaceae, New Guinea hybrid) next to the last step in the garden circuit.

That's the whole tour!  I hope you enjoyed it!

 

Oh, Yes, The Rain Chain

 

Walk over to the fence ...

 

 

I installed my  rain chain by the glass door near my kitchen table, where I like to sit

and look at the garden.  The garden is designed to be viewed from this place.

No rain has fallen since I installed my rain chain, so it is still bright copper.

(The drain is not yet finished.)

Your rain chain is now 3 years old. It must be a beautiful green.

 

Thank you for helping me find the rain chain!

I hope you can visit one day. We can tour the garden together.