We've seen our share of gardens:
botanical, Renaissance, French, landscape, roomed, specialized, and
many more. Hamilton Gardens is unique in our experience, providing a
sort of history of gardens
on a compartmentalized basis. That is, Hamilton displays some twenty
or so different gardens, each depicting a different garden style,
nationality, age, or purpose. The emphasis is on plants, of course, but also on what humans have done with plants, practically, aesthetically, and otherwise. It is one of the best and certainly
most interesting gardens we have seen, whether national, state,
municipal, or private, and it will take more than a couple posts to
convey even a little of its richness. Thanks, Rebecca, for finding this gem on your sabbatical visit to New Zealand.
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On the banks of the Waikato River (New Zealand's longest), almost within the city center |
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| Intro depictions of the various gardens represented; click to enlarge |
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| In the Japanese garden |
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| Moving right along... |
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| In an almost white room, reminiscent of Sissinghurst |
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| Now in the Chinese Scholar's Garden; reminding us of Suzhou |
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| As thick as we've ever seen bamboo |
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| Celestial turtle |
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| Overlooking the Waikato |
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| Modernist's garden...or possibly any backyard in North Dallas |
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The signage throughout was excellent, and I'll let it describe some of the pix
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| Of course "Mughal" means Muslim... |
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| Next post... |
