As you come around the west side of our house, you are standing on the stepping stone directly in the center bottom of this image. The path splits in two with one direction continuing along the fence around the back of the Tea House to the upper pond. This path turns left at the house taking you first to the Tsukubai.
Tsukubai is a washbasin typically placed for visitors to purify themselves by ritual cleansing before a tea ceremony. According to Wikipedia, the name comes from the verb tsukubau meaning "to crouch" or "to bow down." Guests attending a tea ceremony would crouch and wash their hands in a tsukubai set in the tea garden before entering the Tea House. We have a bamboo dipper that you can use if you actually want to perform this ritual.
Looking back the way we just came.
This view of the house and deck is from the foot of the stairs leading up to the Tea House behind us.
The main color in this garden — no matter the season — is shades of green.
Looking back to the Tea House from the deck.
Our Buddha has appeared on the blog hundreds of times in all seasons and all kinds of weather.
The re-sodded grass square looking pristine and lovely.
Lichen-covered stepping stones lead past the deck.
Clematis and evergreens are the main plants at this end of the house.
The stepping stones take you to the bridge over the dry stream or the gravel path up the east side of the pond.
At the east end of the curving gravel (above) path is another water feature.
If you turn right you sweep around the curve of the Turtle Mound; the name is a reference to the placement of the stones on this low hill.
The more steeply sloping Buddha Mound is to your right while the Turtle Mound is behind you in this image.
The gravel path continues behind the Buddha Mound to the gate to our neighbors' garden. Though we are on our fifth neighbors in the time we've lived here, we've always had friendly relations and never regretted the gate we created to join our garden with our first neighboring friends.
The path changes to pine needles as it goes between my two heavily planted perennial beds. This more colorful area is barely visible from the house and deck.
Looking back the way we came. The pine is doing its annual shedding of needles. This area is almost entirely evergreens which we hope will need less maintenance than flowers. The Japanese painted ferns are all self-seeded in this damp area. I have had great luck with this fern but not because of anything I've done.
