I totally missed February at the Lan Su Chinese Garden, so I never did see the plum blossom tree in full bloom. Nor can I tell you if the red rose was still blooming. But I can tell you it wasn’t on March 25. Plenty of other flowers were, though.
Then there are the ritual shots:
The landboat and the weeping willow. Wasn’t it nice of that tourist to wear red and pose there? If you can’t wait for tourists to move, it is nice when they fit the photo. The weeping willow looks so lacy in the spring–I think that is one reason I started making the landboat a ritual photo. This isn’t the usual angle for the landboar shot, but it was raining, so I stayed under a roof.
And the bridge.
As to wildlife, there were two mating pairs: scrub jays and ducks. The jays darted in and out, but were too fast for me to get a photo. They were looking for a nesting spot. After they nest, they will dive bomb visitors for a few weeks. I did get one of the ducks, though they weren’t into staying still either.
I learned something new–it pays to do the tour each visit, each guide is so different. This one emphasized issues of education, occupation and status. It seems not just any child could inherit the garden; it had to go to one with the proper education and standing! So the wealthy families selected one son to groom for status and inheritance.
knitNkwilt 
love these photos! some trees blossom for such a short time, it is easy to miss them.
So beautiful – I wish it wasn’t so far away from Cincinnati.
Beautiful, peaceful, zen!
Interesting, as always. I love weeping willows. Around here, they also have weeping cherries which are all blooming now. It’s a short season, but I love to see them hanging pink blossom-laded boughs down. I had a funny thought about the bridge shot. She was in your picture. Were you in hers? =)
I’ve been there too! Can’t believe how many memories came to my mind 🙂 Where I currently live now, in Spain, there are a lot of weeping willows, this tree is kind of becoming my favourite!
My colleague from school and her daughter came to these gardens in January so it was fun to see this post, as it felt familiar to me. Lovely place! Our botanic gardens are the closet thing around here, and with the drought–no water in the usual places. While the rain may be constant there where you live, it keeps things very green!