Garden Photo of the Day

GPOD on the Road: Spring from the Takata Japanese Garden

Traditional Japanese gardening in the Pacific Northwest

By GPOD Contributor
bridge over small stream cutting through the garden

Today friend of the GPOD Cherry Ong is taking us along to the Takata Japanese Garden at the Horticulture Center of the Pacific (HCP) in Victoria, British Columbia, which she visited in the peak of spring.

large shrub covered in pink flowers
A stunning camellia (Camellia japonica, Zones 7–9) is loaded down with blooms.

Japanese-style pavilionThe pavilion is finally complete! It was under construction when we visited last year.

garden with lots of rocksI love this, which I think is a repurposed taiko drum.

Japanese-style Zen rock garden
A beautiful traditional Japanese gravel garden, raked for use in Zen meditation.

bridge over small stream cutting through the garden
An elegant bridge arches through the garden, framed by the towering trees.

circular Bonsai garden
The Bonsai Garden is to die for! Even the display table is beautifully crafted.

Bonsai tree with bright green foliage
A stunning bonsai tree, carefully pruned to recreate the form of a mature tree in miniature

small garden stream surrounded by spring plants
The stream through the garden is lined with perennials and trees just pushing into spring growth.

big cluster of white flowers
Rhododendron ‘Moonstone’ (Zones 7–10)

large shrubs in full bloom
Clouds of rhododendrons in bloom

 

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to gpod@taunton.com along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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Comments

  1. Chellemp 05/27/2022

    The garden looks so naturally beautiful. The stream and the bonsai are my favorites. Thanks for sharing!

    1. perenniallycrazy 05/27/2022

      You’re welcome.

  2. btucker9675 05/27/2022

    Fabulous garden - I'm certain I need that pavilion in my back garden! That camellia is beyond....

    1. perenniallycrazy 05/27/2022

      Everyone needs a pavilion in their garden.

  3. User avater
    simplesue 05/28/2022

    I think in a perfect world- Fine Gardening could pay Cherry Ong to travel around and visit gardens to share with us as she already does for free! I've "visited" more public gardens via Cherry Ong, than I even knew existed- always a pleasure to see her posts!

    1. perenniallycrazy 07/20/2022

      That would definitely work for me! LOL. Happy to share my gardening photos with you all.

  4. User avater
    treasuresmom 05/28/2022

    Beautiful!

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