Gardens
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Estate Overview
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French Parterre
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Rose Garden
Lunar Lawn
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Japanese-Style Garden
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Greenhouses
Cutting Garden
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Other Points of Interest
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Seasonal Interest
The Japanese-style Garden at Hillwood is one of the last remaining examples
of the type of oriental gardens influenced by the reintroduction of
the Japanese culture to America during the 1950s.
Shogo J. Myaida, a garden designer who became
a naturalized U.S. citizen in the 1920s when Japanese culture was first
popular among the American elite, was hired to complete the design.
Myaida readily adopted the American culture and developed a style of
garden construction that blended the traditions of Japanese architecture
and garden design with the practicality of American tastes.
 It
was not his intention to design an authentic Japanese garden, but
rather to create a Japanese-influenced pleasure garden that best met
the desires of the garden’s owner. The layout of the garden is
a traditional interpretation of a mountain, built in miniature. The
garden depicts the fountainhead of a mountain stream, which cascades
from an evergreen forest, then pours into a series of ponds connected
by streams and waterfalls before it ends in a lake at the bottom.
Over 500 boulders carefully placed in the garden create the illusion
of a rocky mountainside. Paths crisscross through the garden, with
customary bridges of wood and stone allowing access from one side
to the other.
stuppas, lanterns, and statuary are placed in crucial focal points
of the garden. Trees and shrubs that are classical to Japanese gardens,
such as cryptomeria, cherries, azaleas, rhododendrons, Japanese maples,
and pines, are blended with indigenous plants that grow in the woodland
bordering the garden. Lotus and waterlilies float in the ripples of
the lower pool, and Japanese iris line the edges. Guests frequently
remain to enjoy the tranquility of this garden, reflecting on the
intricate details of its design.
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