Japanese Tea Garden - Day 4

An Arch Bridge in the Tea Garden

We saw how close the houses were together - one inch apart! There are no front yards or back yards and so the city decided to put a park together for the people. The Golden Gate Park was the result. In the Golden Gate Park there are botanical gardens, among other things.

As well as this there is the Japanese Tea Garden. This is an absolutely beautiful garden. Children will love to clamber over the pathways and bridges and arches. The park is a beautiful place for people to take time out to on the weekend. Apparently 75,000 people go there on the weekends!

When the Golden Gate Park was designed, the designer did not like "Keep Off Grass" signs, so he didn't put any in. He wanted people to own the park, find their own nooks and crannies and places to hide away. There were holes in hedgerows and all kinds of neat little get away spots. A very people friendly place.

He also didn't like statues and the city was wanting to put them in. So apparently he would grow plants all around them, to obscure them. The city put up a tiny statue to this man and when he found it he took it one dark night and hid it away in a barn. When he died they took this statue from the barn (after they found it) and put it in the park. *I* think that is rather sad. If he didn't want it in the park, it shouldn't be there.