To escape the winter, I visited the Fort Lauderdale area of Florida. While there, I took a trip to visit the Morikami Museum and Japanese Garden.
Sukiya Living Magazine (JOJG) ranks Roji-en (the Garden of the Drops of Dew) as #8 on the 25 best Japanese gardens in North America, so I was excited to see the garden.
Originally started as an agricultural colony by a group of Japanese farmers, the garden opened in 1977 and today consists of 16 acres of authentic Japanese gardens and museum exhibit space dedicated to Japanese living culture. There is also a tea house and extensive bonsai collection.
Website: https://morikami.org
Although technically a Japanese garden, I found the local plants, flowers and trees that populated the six distinct gardens to be interesting since they were very different from what one might normally find in a Japanese garden. On the other hand, the dry landscape gardens, or rock gardens, were very authentic and well executed. Overall I found the garden to be an excellent example of an authentic Japanese inspired garden.
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| Chie no Wa Wisdom Ring |
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| Kodai-mon (Ancient Gate) |
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| Karesansui Late Rock Graden |
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| Hiraniwa Flat Garden |
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| Nan-mon (South Gate) |
