Garden of Morning Calm
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One and a half hours north of Seoul is the Garden of Morning Calm, an outstanding collection of gardens. The Garden Gurus are the first foreign crew to get into the garden and film the glorious mountain landscape.
The gardens are made of a number of themed areas, but there is an underlying concept that you can see right through out the area; the reflection of the Ying and Yang concepts of oriental balance.
The traditional Korean style of house has been used for over 600 hundred years and it is still found commonly in the countryside and mountainous regions today. The gate house, with its large timber doors and stables both sides is a spectacular entry statement and the robust architecture of the house uses timber in a dramatic effect.
The sunken garden has been formed from a very mountainous slope with lots of rocks and not much soil. At the moment it is an absolute blaze of colour which is coming from annual plants.
Aster or Easter Daisy (Aster novi-belgii) make a great show at this time of the year, particularly in shades of mauve and purple. Chrysanthemums (Dendranthemum grandiflorum cv.) are induced to flower as we go into winter by the shortening day lengths. The Ornamental Kale (Brassica oleracea cv.) are a form of cabbage that loves the cold and the colder it gets, the more spectacular the colour.
A more permanent feature of the garden are the trees and shrubs which have been trained in very contrive shapes and they are a lovely contrast to the third element of the garden, the signature stones.
The stones have been positioned to create focal points in the garden; however, it is not the only way to use rocks in the landscape. Neville takes a look at a rock garden with a real difference. All the tiny rock structures in the valley are built by hand with no cement involved. The idea behind it is that visitors to the park make the structures and then create a wish. There are a few thousand of them but when the summer rains comes, they turn the valley into a torrent and all the structures get knocked over so you have to come back again the next year and do it again!
The harmony between deciduous and evergreen trees is evident throughout the surrounding valley and within the beautiful garden. The maples take centre stage with their spectacular display of autumn hues. You can grow maples at home in
The name of the garden comes from the Indian poet Tagore who praised
The Korean people have enormous respect for the role that trees play in the environment and there are many different species grown in a Korean garden providing the visitor with colour all year round.
Another great feature form this amazing garden is a tree called the Millennium Juniper, a thousand year old Juniper that was dug out and transplanted about ten years ago. It?s another great reason to come a visit the garden of Morning Calm.
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