Part 2, Visit to Schedel Gardens, the Japanese garden

If you didn't catch yesterday's post, please check it out before you go through this post. It is the first part of my daughter's and my visit to Shedel Arboretum and Gardens in Elmore, Ohio.

My favorite part of our visit to the gardens was the Japanese Garden. Here is a waterfall from the patio leading down to the pond in the Japanese Garden.


The garden from a distance.


And here is the waterfall from the lower level of the estate. Beautiful view, isn't it?



Looking toward the garden.


We went up a few steps to get there.


There were more waterfalls in the ponds there. I think this is so lovely.


Isn't it beautiful? I love being near water, so this was just about the most peaceful place for me. I would love to be here alone to relax and contemplate life.


We crossed this little bridge.


It was near this little stream that originated from the big waterfall.


More melodic, pretty waterfalls.




Yet another view of the pond. There used to be big fish in here. I think they were transplanted to the bigger pond as this one is shallow.




This was my favorite picture of the day that I took.


There is a crane statue on the left side of this pic. Plants grew around it and all you can see is his beak.


These cute pagodas were on the edge of the pond.




This is a Japanese torii. It's said that if someone passes through a torii, it brings good health, prosperity, and a long life.


So of course we passed through it! Twice actually. Never hurts to have extra good health, prosperity and an even longer life!




I spotted these hens and chickens on a big rock near the pond. Amazing that they could grow on that.


We wanted pics taken against the loveliness of the gardens.





This concrete water garden and statue were at the far end of the Japanese Garden.


From there, we could see a pretty little bridge in the distance.


How cute is this?


Here it is from another angle. We didn't cross it as we were running out of time because the gardens were about to close for the day. Besides, there were no steps up the hill from this spot.


However, a lantern at the edge of the Japanese Garden marked the way toward steps back toward the upper level of the estate.


We made our way up the steps which was bordered by these floral baskets.


We enjoyed our visit to Schedel Gardens so much! My daughter wants to come back again someday. I think we should make an annual trek there if nothing more than just to see what new sculptures and artwork they have each year! Plus, they change flower arrangements yearly. I also think it would be lovely to visit in the fall.

Well that wasn't the end of our trip though! We decided to visit the scenic village of Elmore where we visited an antique shop, had a bite to eat, then visited the local pond on the banks of the Portage River. Check back tomorrow late afternoon for more pics as our trip continues!