This week, Roy decided that he wanted to enjoy the last of the Autumn weather by visiting a garden. Roy loves gardens, and when he discovered that there was a well known garden in Gosford which he had not visited, decided it was the perfect time to rectify this. Not only was the garden beautiful, but there was a wonderful restaurant where Roy, Roy's Grandmother and I enjoyed lunch. Roy will tell you about the restaurant next week.
If you would like to visit the Edogawa Japanese Gardens in Gosford, they are located on the shore of Caroline Bay in East Gosford. They are at 36 Webb Street, and there is plenty of parking available in Webb Street and George Street. The gardens are a pleasant walk, and there is a lovely restaurant, shop and even the Regional Gallery to see.
The Japanese Gardens in Gosford are called the Gosford/Edogawa Japanese Gardens and were a gift from Gosford's sister city, Edogawa, to the people of Gosford. The gardens were opened in 1994 and since then they have grown and blossomed. There is a Koi pond, tea house, Koi pavilion, raked rock garden and meandering paths winding between the plants and water features. If you are visiting with children though, make sure you supervise them closely as the ponds are not fenced.
The garden is designed in the Shoyu, or wandering style, so that the paths wind gently and comfortably. Edogawa garden is also designed in the Heian period style, a style which dates to 800 ad. It was about this period that the nobility of Japan began to build palaces and lay out gardens in the Kyoto area, and this style of garden is the oldest in Japan. There was, at this time, similarities between the gardens of China and Japan, with Chinese gardens being very influential in the design of Japanese gardens. The purpose of the design was to have lake, plantings, rocks, pavilions and some sort of hut feature visible in one landscape, as opposed to having specific garden 'rooms'. This design principle is very evident at the Edogawa garden, where there are beautiful vistas including buildings, plants, paths and water features.