I traveled from Seattle, across Lake Washington, to the city of Bellevue to visit the Bellevue Botanical Garden. Within the garden was a Japanese "contemplative" garden, called the Yao Garden. The garden is the result of a sitter city relationship between the cities of Bellevue, Washington and Yao, Japan. Although I was able to take public transport to the city of Bellevue, getting from downtown to the garden was more difficult. I had to use an Uber to make it happen.
The garden was very small. However, it has a spectacular gate leading into the garden. This style gate was typical of many of the gates I would come across in Washington state. The planting consisted of a variety of ground covers and azaleas and rhododendrons. However, although there were still some blooming flowers near the gateway, the majority of the garden was less interesting, especially the area surrounding the central pond. Perhaps a visit in the early spring or fall would prove more inspiring.
