kishida's garden

we returned to royal roads university, ian's alma mater, 

to visit a very special japanese garden

royal roads university is housed
 in victoria's hatley park on the esquimalt lagoon.

with good traffic conditions, it is only a 25 minutes leisurely drive from home.

admission to the gardens was very reasonable (we arrived off season)...

$4.50 for adults, $13.50 for a family of five.

we have lived in victoria for close to 20 years now... 

and still there are treasures to be found.

after watching an episode on recreating eden, 

a canadian gardening series, 

i was ecstatic to find that victoria has a not one but two 

authentic japanese gardens, 

both over 100 years old.

the first one is the japanese gardens at buchart 

and the second is this garden at hatley park.

both gardens were designed in 1909 by isaburo kishida, 

a japanese garden designer.

there are several wooden structures throughout the garden.

my favourite is this beautiful wooden arch bridge.

the gravel path takes you all around this enormous pond,

 a common element in japanese horticulture.

with each turn of the path you get glimpses of japanese symbols... 

like these two sculpted cranes placed in the middle of the pond.  

in japan, cranes symbolize longevity

there are two wooden gazebos in the park...

the one in the middle of the pond makes such a 

beautiful focal point for any picture, at any angle.

the second gazebo, located in a more hidden section amongst the trees, 

provides benches for weary garden visitors.

but there are also benches scattered throughout the garden,

plenty of perfect spots to stop and take in all the beauty.

it took almost twenty years of residing in victoria 

for me to discover this magnificent japanese eden.

it is beautiful beyond words and my pictures doesn't do it justice.

you'll have to see it for yourself.

erica

xoxo