Well, I was hoping to share the secret path that leads to this garden, but haven't had a chance to upload photos yet! So I will share the Japanese Garden at Maymont with you today!
To get to the Japanese Garden, you must enter from the Italian Garden. You walk down the stairs of the HUGE lion fountain, and seem to dead end, with the start of a waterfall on your right and a narrow winding path on your left. If you take the narrow, winding path you come to this arch.
Because of the similar climates of Japan and Virginia, lots of native Japanese plants were imported by the Dooleys during the construction of this garden.
Kids and adults alike love to hop from stepping stone to stepping stone. The koi also love to swim close to the stones, as many times people feed them.
I think these are a Japanese iris that grows in water and marsh. I'm not sure the varity, but if you know, please fill me in!
Here is the waterfall on the property. This is fed from storm water runoff on the property. There is an elaborate sytem of cisterns and small man-made streams that run through the entire property for irragation. This water fall and the Lion fountain feed the entire system. Only the waterfall or the fountain can run at one time. There is a controll room that has a switch to divert the water to one or the other. While the waterfall is entirely man-made, during the Victorian Era, mind you, the rock is from the property. Maymont is located on the Fall Line, seperating the Coastal Plain from the Piedmont regions along the East coast of the USA. Because of this there are some steep inclines and dropoffs, allowing the bedrock to be exposed throughout the property. There are also many springs on the property because of this that help feed the irrigation system.
This is one of those streams.
Here are more of those iris.
The lake is so beautiful!
This tea house was a recent installation by The Maymont Foundation. It is a relaxing place to have a picnic or just to rest, as exploring the 100 acre property can be tiring!
Here is another view of the bridge.
There are lots and lots of beautiful statues on the property. Here is one in a rock garden located in the Japanese Garden. Expect more beautiful photos from Maymont over the next few days!
~Mikey @ Shabby French Cottage
