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Garden". Above - the pond & the Jade Water Pavilion as seen through the moon gate. The Tai Hu rocks may form the firm skeleton of the garden, but it’s the water that is the garden’s living pulse, a soft yin balancing the rocks’ hard yang. The plants, chosen for their mystical & symbolic properties, set the mood in the garden & evoke a deliberate landscape. For example, strong plants like pine and cypress are used in the wide open spaces, while delicate bamboo and miniature rhododendron are used in confined courtyards. The three friends of winter - pine, bamboo & winter-flowering plum, are found in special places throughout the Garden, symbolizing the human virtues of strength and eternity, resiliency amid diversity, and triumphal rebirth. Many of the plants found in the Garden are native Chinese plants, however, local plants are also included to reinforce the bridging of cultures that continues to be one of the Garden’s chief mandates.
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North America
