The gardens are beautiful here in Arizona.  Today we visited the Japanese Friendship Garden in Phoenix.  These wild ducklings befriended me.

This park is filled with ideas that I would love to incorporate into my own gardens.

I love the rain chains.  They softly carry water down its rings into a place designated for water flow that carefully takes the water to designated gardens.  The sound is soft and tinkling as the water flows easily down the chain.

The sound of water is so soothing and a simple solar powered fountain would really be nice near my greenhouse.

A place to have tea near the water feature would be a lovely respite.

Koi need to be able to drop below three feet in order not to freeze.  I don’t think it is warm enough in our area to have them, but I do love their gaping mouths and sparkling, colored scales.

The stone lanterns were used to light meandering paths.

Statues add something special to ordinary garden spaces.

This is a lovely, small park with pine trees shaped like bonsai  and entertaining birds, koi, and water features.  Shaded spaces and benches to sit and contemplate round each corner.  They have public and private tea ceremonies.  If you are in the Phoenix area, it is only seven dollars to walk through the Japanese Friendship Garden.