'The winter frosts
were upon us. It was towards the end of December, the pond had frozen
over and the fish were nowhere to be seen.
The Japanese Garden still has some magic at this time of year. The
glint of the frosts on the boughs of various leafless acers. On the
webs of spiders, stretched across between the branches. The glisten
of the ice on the still pond. The tinkle of the wind chimes in the
cold evening breeze. The splash of water as it runs over the rocks to tumble
into the pond below, daring Jack Frost to freeze it into submission in the
icy grip of winter's chill.'
These extracts from the
author's book 'How I Built a Japanese Garden' are reproduced courtesy of
the publishers.
The hard copy of the book is now available ... CLICK
HERE for
details
'The birds have been having their
own problems with the icy spell. Difficult to feed on the frozen ground,
they have been digging anywhere they can in search of food. Where the
ground has been mulched by chipped bark and fallen leaves they can still,
at least, make some effort to find that life saving crust. Even the
dreaded heron is having problems, as the frozen pond offers no opportunity
of a meal. So it sits on a rock beside the water fountain, and gazes
wistfully into the small area of unfrozen water beside the fountain, hoping,
perhaps, for a slow moving fish to venture past, unaware of the danger.
Nevertheless there is undoubted beauty in the pure clean white of the frosts
and of the snow.
And surely there is nowhere more stunning than in the Japanese
Garden.' |
