New burst of Spring growth

          Each Spring we see a burst of Scotch Pine "candles' that have to be trimmed.

                             These large bright flowers are from the Cranberry Bush.

  Japanese love flowers and make a special effort to have something blooming in their gardens through all seasons, so they tend to choose more woody plants, like evergreens and bushes, as well as flowers like these early blooming Siberian Irises. 
Anderson Japanese Gardens

There is a love story associated with Irises and bridges. A scholar went away for a time walking along a river that branched into 8 streams each with a bridge. Along side the bridges were Irises. Missing his true love, he took the Japanese word for Iris and composed a poem to his love beginning with each letter.

                                                  View from the Guest House porch.

 

Hoichi Kirusu, master Japanese garden designer, is designing a new 

eight acre Japanese garden in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

It will open in 2015

 

Construction site of the new Japanese Garden in Grand Rapids, Michigan