Winter in the Japanese Garden

Click any picture to enlarge

Use the back button on your browser to return

Across the bridge towards the Teahouse

From the bridge towards the Pavilion

To the dry garden

Beside the Teahouse

'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.'