Maymont Park, Part One

On Mother's Day this year my family, in-laws included, headed to Maymont Park in Richmond.  About an hour's drive from our home, Maymont is home to a century old mansion and 100 acres of grounds and gardens.  The house and grounds were originally home to the Dooleys who had made their money in the railroads during the gilded age.  Having no direct heirs, they gifted the property and their beautiful home to the city of Richmond.  The unique aspect of this spectacular place is that the mansion and grounds had only one owner and the city took good care over the last one hundred years to keep everything intact.  Also, Maymont is free!  For people with small children there is a nature conservancy and petting farm that has been added.  (Note: the nature conservancy is the only area in the park that there is an entrance fee.)

We parked at the nature conservancy and walked quite a distance over to the gardens.  As you come out of the back of the nature conservancy you are at the top of a large hill over looking the property.

It was very busy that day and people were strolling everywhere.  Maymont is a perfect place to have a picnic and a lot of people were taking advantage of the beautiful weather after a few days of rain and cold temperatures.

We found the path to the Japanese garden first.  For the elderly and those with knee problems this would not be an easy climb down.  However, for the young and young at heart, this was a descent full of imaginative possibilities!

Bamboo, moss and rocks surround you.

When you reach the bottom, you come out to a clearing with a large maple tree and a meditative area underneath. I'm sure many have come and painted this scene as it is pure perfection.

Once you pass the meditative area to the left you come out to the beginning of a stream which meanders through the entire Japanese garden.

Maples are everywhere and their contrasting leaves make a huge impact as does the well placed stone work.

Looking to the right, the stream guides you along through the garden.

Looking to the left, your breath is taken away for a moment.  A large waterfall jets out of an enormous rock formation.  Another spot to stop and meditate is a small pavilion close to the waterfall way up on the rocky wall, not today though, as there are a hundreds of people here!

Here, foliage texture and color are the most important elements of the plants.

Another view of the waterfall with a traditional Japanese bridge which takes you over to the pavilion.

Continuing along, the stream spills out in to a large pond with turtles and large koi.  The pond was packed with people and there were not very many places to get a good picture without having too many people in the shot.

There is a little grotto as well in this area along the path, but again today was a busy day and there were too many people to get a good camera shot. As we left this area, we had to ascend a pathway that was not as treacherous as the first, but still a big climb.  Looking to the left along the path, I saw a small view of the waterfall between the bamboo. Can you see the person that is sitting under a bit of the rock formation at the left?  Even on a busy day, there were places to find solitude.

  In part two of Maymont, we will make the climb out of the Japanese garden in to the Italian garden.