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ANN IN TEXAS

Seeing the beauty in shades of gray

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Foto Friday: Exploring the Japanese Gardens

Fri Nov 26, 2010 1:42 PM EST

home-garden, beauty, photos, nature, gift, fort-worth, photo-friday, botanic-garden, maple-trees, japanese-garden, national-landmark

By ann in Texas

Pagodas are traditionally designed to store a family's treasured possessions.

The Moon Bridge, framed by gorgeous maples

My daughter on the Moon Bridge

My son on the stepping stones in the Koi pond. At one time, Koi could be found only in the possession of Japanese nobility. Many of the fish we saw were much bigger than the ducks.

The Suzuki Garden is a study in contrasting stone surfaces softened by evergreen plants. It is designed to complement the dry landscape garden.

The Karesansui Garden is a dry landscape garden, meant to inspire mediation. One interpretation is that the stone represents bodies of land, and the gravel symbolizes water. Each day it is carefully raked. It is surrounded by a rectangular wooden structure, where visitors can sit and relax.

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My mom and kids and I visited the Japanese Gardens in Fort Worth this week. The maple trees are stunning this time of year, and only enhanced this ethereal place.

The Japanese Garden is one of many smaller gardens that make up the Botanic Gardens, which have been in a state of development for many years. The construction of the gardens has always been a collaborative effort between sculptors, landscape designers, architects, botanists, artists, and friends of the city.

When construction began, it provided jobs in a depressed economy, and spanned federal relief programs of Presidents Hoover and Roosevelt.

The Japanese gardens were first started in a old rock quarry. What beauty has come from something once abandoned. Here's a really nice article that gives more history. You can find more about the Japanese Garden here. To learn more about other gardens on the grounds, like the national landmark Rose Garden, visit this link.

Enough talk! Here are the photos from the visit, taken on my Blackberry phone.

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Public Discussion (40)

Hope you enjoy the pics. We had a wonderful day there, and there is so much beauty to see.

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend viners :)

A

6 votes

#1 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 1:45 PM EST

Beautiful:). I like the way you framed your son's picture with the Japanese maple(?).

And a Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to you, too:).

4 votes

#1.1 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 2:17 PM EST

Hi Plantsman. I didn't catch which variety of maple that was. There were many and the leaf colors were glorious.

I took a few pics of my son on those stones. All the kids were drawn to them; they seemed supended and required some balance and concentration for little feet to get across. He's still talking about them today.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

2 votes

#1.2 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 5:20 PM EST

Hi ann,

I don't remember if I've seen you on Foto-Friday before, but here you are and this is a well-done and interesting article and photo essay. The pagoda shot could be a brochure entry and the Moon bridge a French Impressionist painting.

Very nice.

2 votes

#1.3 - Sat Nov 27, 2010 9:22 AM EST

Hi A Mac,

Thank you for the kind words. It's been a long time since I submitted anything to FF. I have good intentions and have so many pics on my phone--I just haven't gotten them off and done anything with them :)

The bridge does bring to mind Monet and impressionism! You have a wonderful eye.

Hope your holiday's going all right. The first ones after we lose someone special are always hard.

2 votes

#1.4 - Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:26 AM EST

A word of caution when posting images taken with cell phones; many cell phones have a GPS function and that function can embed your location information in the images! Either disable the function or be careful as to which images you put on the internet.

3 votes

#1.5 - Sat Nov 27, 2010 11:38 AM EST

I had no idea. Thank you for that information.

2 votes

#1.6 - Sat Nov 27, 2010 4:07 PM EST

Sweet, when I lived in St. Louis, we went at least once a month to their Botanical Gardens. It takes a lot of love for these gardens to exist.

3 votes

#2 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 1:45 PM EST

These pictures are lovely. A very nice submission for foto-friday. The blossoms and the Moon bridge were my favorites. Thank you for sharing this. JJ

4 votes

#3 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 2:37 PM EST

How lovely! You can tell they take very good care of the garden, thanks so much for sharing it with us!

I'm going to clip this to the Vine Travelogues group.

3 votes

#4 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 3:12 PM EST

Ann -- I tried to leave a comment, but I had the double p's again, and it looked like it didn't post.

Your pictures are truly lovely! I wish I could go there, and many thanks to you for taking me there! What a beautiful place! It does my heart good to see green! Winter has come to KY with a vengence!

Much love to you! I am going to clip this to the Mysteries of the Orient group!

1 vote

#5 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 3:20 PM EST

Ann, what nice photos to remind me of warmer times here! I live in St. Louis, and it was 25 here this morning. Brrrrr! It's sunny and 41 now.

Those shots are exceptional, and the sculpted appearance of the area is nice. I especially liked the gravel and stone garden with the rake marks still present. Such attention to detail!

2 votes

#6 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 4:09 PM EST

Beautiful photos Ann. I especially love the moon bridge with the maple leaves. Great composition!

1 vote

#7 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 4:29 PM EST

Great photos Ann, very serene and colorful -- I really like Japanese gardens, none around here though. Thanks for sharing your day.

1 vote

#8 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 4:52 PM EST

Thank you all for stopping by and commenting :)

mstanley, you're so right about the maintenance required, and the attention to detail. May of the shrubs were trimmed perfectly and thoughtfully placed. The gardens made great use of bamboo, using it not only as natural shields but also creating railings from the stem (called culms). It's one of those places I need to visit again to see what I missed the first time :)

Hi JJ, I loved the moon bridge also. The moon was a repeating theme there; there is even a moon viewing deck on the property.

Thank you for the clip, rottlady :) It's wonderful seeing you.

Dowser, winter has found us also :) Wed. when we were at the garden, it was 80 and humid. When we woke up on Thursday there was frost everywhere and it got down into the 30s. Hugs to you.

Jim, I was in awe of the careful raking marks at the dry landscape garden also. I wish I'd taken more pics. Even the walkways were beautiful. Black stones set in gravel, some pretty granite by the tea room. All just amazing detail. Thank you for saying hi :)

Hi etva! Thank you. Pics from my phone usually come out kinda fuzzy, but I think when the subject was as pretty as this, there weren't many bad pics :) Hope you are enjoying this long weekend.

Desertzonie, I take it you are in the southwest? You've probably got some beautiful surrounding where you are. Glad I could share these shots with you. Have a great weekend.

3 votes

#9 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 5:33 PM EST

Beautiful pics, Ann !!!!!

3 votes

#10 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 8:16 PM EST

Hello you! Thank you so much. Hope all is well in FL. ((((River))))

3 votes

#10.1 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 8:22 PM EST

{{{{Ann}}}}

As well as can be, I reckon.

:)

3 votes

#10.2 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 8:31 PM EST

Got your email. I'll write ya back.

2 votes

#10.3 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 8:56 PM EST

These are great, Ann! If you go to Fredericksburg (antique heaven!) they have a beautiful Japanese garden as well.

These brought back great memories of those for me.
Thanks for sharing!

2 votes

#11 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 8:26 PM EST

Hi mther! I haven't been to Fredericksburg in too long. I always plans to stop there (my sis lives in Wimberley). I will check out the Japanese gardens next time I do stop. Thanks much for the tip!Have a super rest of the weekend :)

A

3 votes

#11.1 - Fri Nov 26, 2010 9:05 PM EST

Ann, these are beautiful photos. I love gardens, they are a wonderful place to relax and reflect on the things that are important in life.

3 votes

#12 - Sat Nov 27, 2010 9:35 AM EST

Hi Elaine, you're so right. This was a beautiful and calming place -- great for centering. I was happy to be there with my kids and mom.

Have a wonderful day :)

3 votes

#12.1 - Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:28 AM EST

Well Ann we must be neighbors lol... I love the Japanese Gardens.. It looks like you had the place almost to yourselves. Lucky you! Love the pictures.

3 votes

#13 - Sat Nov 27, 2010 10:09 AM EST

mssuzieq, hi neighbor, and thanks :) It was not very crowded on Wed. It was good to see families milling about; we saw several girls having Quinceanera photos made, and a few brides too. Hope you enjoy the rest of the long weekend.

3 votes

#13.1 - Sat Nov 27, 2010 11:01 AM EST

I love Japanese gardens, they are scxh a lovely way to design a garden. Thanks Ann for taking us to the garden with you. :)

2 votes

#14 - Sat Nov 27, 2010 4:40 PM EST

Hi there. It really is evident that so much thoughtful planning went into the design of the gardens. The order beckons serenity. Have a good rest of the day Vlad's dog. Thank you for stopping by :)

2 votes

#14.1 - Sat Nov 27, 2010 4:47 PM EST

The Japanese gardens at Fort Worth botanical gardens are great, I went there with my family in the late summer last and once when it opened. We go fairly often to the non-paid admission gardens as well. For kids the new(ish) forest bridge thing is really nice. I don't have a favorite, they are all great and it's where I go for inspiration for my own garden.

For a really awesome combo deal check out the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra's Fourth of July in the Park. They do a great live concert with fireworks all set in the botanical gardens.

3 votes

#15 - Mon Nov 29, 2010 11:44 AM EST

Hi Kyle,

We go fairly often to the non-paid admission gardens as well.

This is where I've usually gone too. In the Rose garden, the kids really like reading the markers and trying to find the oldest variety of roses. There were still a lot of roses in bloom last week. My brother and his wife were married in the Fuller Garden area a few years ago.

Have you been to the Dallas Arboretum lately? We visited during the fall -- wonderful -- and plan to go again in the spring.

3 votes

#15.1 - Mon Nov 29, 2010 11:59 AM EST

We went last spring to the Dallas Arboretum though I like the Fort Worth Botanical better but maybe I'm just biased living in Fort Worth. Now I have to admit I usually like the Dallas art museum better than the Kimbell though.

I think the botanical gardens should acquire land against the Trinity out front and make a river garden - that would rock. I know there is a park there already but that's not much fun.

3 votes

#15.2 - Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:34 PM EST

I like the sprawling feel of FW's gardens more. The arboretum has a contained vibe (lake and fair park boundaries). Agree about Dallas' art museums too, though we sure are lucky to be close to so many options, aren't we :)

Love your idea for expanding more into the Trinity river property. The little train is there now (we have enjoyed that in the past) and a few picnic tables.

3 votes

#15.3 - Mon Nov 29, 2010 1:56 PM EST

beautiful!

2 votes

#16 - Thu Dec 2, 2010 4:24 PM EST

They sure are :) Nice to see you firsty.

3 votes

#16.1 - Thu Dec 2, 2010 9:28 PM EST

A lot of Americans are not familiar with the Zen influence on Japanese gardens. It is very contrived simplicity.

3 votes

#17 - Thu Dec 2, 2010 9:34 PM EST

Atisdi, how are you? Thanks for a great comment.

You would love these botanic gardens. There is a different "feel" in the various gardens -- in the rose gardens you can find varieties dating back to the 1850. The smell of those roses is so wonderous. The rose plants are grouped in small beds which are orderly arranged. You feel like you're in a garden on an English estate.

Here is the lush conservatory garden. And look at the 4 seasons garden, designed to appeal to all of our senses.

Nature stirs the soul and is personal somehow. I am drawn to order in gardens and landscapes. I like repetition in shapes and varieties of plants....as you said, the Zen effect. Prairies, and especially tall grasses, are very depressing to me. Deserts are unbridled and open, and are remarkable as well.

3 votes

#17.1 - Thu Dec 2, 2010 10:05 PM EST

I am doing OK, at least adjusting I guess. Not much chance I will ever make it to Ft. Worth, but those are very pretty gardens. Something about a lot of plants in a serene setting that calms the soul---yes--- I do have a preference for the Oriental garden though. I live in the desert of northern Nevada, and it does have a certain spirit to it.

1 vote

#17.2 - Thu Dec 2, 2010 10:28 PM EST

I'm glad to hear it Atsidi, and I'm always happy to see your posts on NV. I felt like getting through Thanksgiving was a big hurdle for me, my soon to be ex, my kids, and our families. Seems to be pressure surrounding the holidays for those of us going through major life changes. Sometimes just "a day at a time" seems an accomplishment.

Bet it's beautiful where you are. Are you far from Lake Tahoe?

1 vote

#17.3 - Fri Dec 3, 2010 7:05 AM EST

I have never been real big on holidays because of the way it makes people so crazy. Especially Christmas and because the whole meaning and reason for Christmas in the first place seems to get completely overlooked.

I am in the very north east corner of the state. Don't know the mileage exactly, but I'd guess around 4 or 5 hundred miles from the lake,, although I did live up there for awhile once and in the area for a time also. Very pretty. It is very pretty where I am, as far as I am concerned. my big problem is not being a big fan of winter and cold weather. I should get off my butt and take a few photos and post them for my NV friends.

Yeah, one day at a time, sometimes just hour to hour and sometimes the clocks all seem to just stop. Hope your life smooths out, I believe mine is a little.

2 votes

#17.4 - Fri Dec 3, 2010 10:23 AM EST

I wish you would post photos some time, Atsidi! I'm also not real big on cold weather either. I lived in Omaha for a little over a year and couldn't get over the snow. More amazing to me were the snowplows that took care of everything, early in the morning, and how the snow didn't phase people who were used to it :)

I was in Tahoe maybe 10 years ago...just a beautiful part of the country.

Yeah, one day at a time, sometimes just hour to hour and sometimes the clocks all seem to just stop. Hope your life smooths out, I believe mine is a little.

Exactly. And I am happy for you. Talk soon, my friend.

2 votes

#17.5 - Fri Dec 3, 2010 12:49 PM EST

((((((((((((((ann and Astidi)))))))))))))

1 vote

#17.6 - Fri Dec 3, 2010 2:31 PM EST

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