Garden Visit: Cowden Japanese Garden

Monday, 28 September 2020

We celebrated 10 years of marriage this week and decided to treat ourself to a day off work – but not a day off gardens as we love them so much! We made a much overdue visit to Cowden Japanese Garden, just outside Dollar. It was a true pleasure to explore, here’s why…

There are four essential elements used in Japanese garden design: rocks, water, plants, and ornaments and Cowden put them all to perfect use. As you enter you are immediately welcomed with a beautiful ridge and a peek through to the wonder of the gardens beyond:

There are gorgeous Japanese lanterns, sculptures and a plethora of huge boulders dotted around the garden. And always views of the perfect pond in the middle:

Whilst the renovation has only been undertaken in recent years, there has been a Japanese Garden at Cowden for over a 100 years, the amazing creation by Ella Christie. Mature trees work with the newer planting and the beautiful landscape beyond is borrowed to create a lovely, relaxing space:

As the recently planted shrubs and trees grow, this garden will evolve and become an even more special space. Autumn is a stunning time of year to visit as the leaves glow in the sunshine:

The Zen Garden is a perfect dry landscape garden. Rocks, moss and shrubs are carefully placed alongside the “ripples” of the gravel circles:

Tea House inspired structures add to the ambience. A new ceremonial lake-side Tea House is being constructed which will host events, education and tell Ella Christie’s story:

The zig-zag bridge is a clever feature of the garden:

There is also a Woodland Walk which is packed full of fun things for children to do such as making leaf boats and solving puzzles.

We highly recommend a day out at Cowden Japanese Garden, it is a hidden gem.

Vialii