Happy Monday GPODers!
Our community has been on the move! When I did recent calls for photos from public gardens that you all have visited over the past year, I knew we were bound to see some exciting destinations but I don’t think I was prepared for the range of garden photos we would receive from far-flung locations. In fact, we received so many fabulous submissions from gorgeous garden destinations that I have decided to take GPOD “on the road” for an entire week! We will be experiencing a wide range of gardens—from formal castle grounds to naturalistic designs and even the home garden of a world-renowned landscape designer that you have the chance to visit with Fine Gardening.
But we’re kicking the week off in Japan, with some fabulous foliage photos that Bonnie Phipps Moninger captured during her trip last fall. We saw an update from Bonnie’s home garden in Boulder, Colorado last week (Bonnie’s Front Garden in Colorado), and the appreciation for Japanese garden designs that we saw in her front yard displays are seen again in the admiration she has for the naturalistic landscapes she enjoyed in her travels.
In November 2025, my husband and I traveled to Japan, hoping to witness the autumn foliage. We were fortunate to be there during the peak season! We dedicated a significant amount of time in Kyoto, exploring the smaller temples in Arashiyama as well as some of the larger ones near Gion. The Japanese invest considerable time, thought, and intention into the arrangement of trees, plants, rocks, and statues in their gardens, resulting in a stunning tapestry of shapes, textures, and colors. They are experts in using large rocks, Japanese lanterns, and intricate rock paths in their designs. These gardens, though they have been landscaped many years ago, look so natural. We were in awe throughout our entire stay. Below are some pictures of the gardens we visited.
The first group of photos is from the Arashiyama area of Kyoto. This area has smaller temples, and you can walk from one to another, connected by small roads. Each temple garden is quite different, and there are tons of them!
Enrian Temple, Arashiyama, Kyoto
Enrian Temple, Arashiyama, Kyoto
Gio-ji Temple, Arashiyama. This is a natural-looking small fountain. The golden ground cover in the back is all moss.
Jojakkoji Temple, Arashiyama, Kyoto
Jojakkoji Temple, Arashiyama, Kyoto
Jojakkoji Temple, Arashiyama. Many of the gardens featured exquisite stone pathways that meandered through them, similar to this one and those depicted in the images in the next picture.
Left: Jojakkoji Temple, Arashiyama; Center and right: Okochi Sanso Garden, Arashiyama
Okochi Sanso Villa in Arashiyama. Formerly the estate of the famed film actor Okochi Denjiro (1898 – 1962). It has over a mile of paths running through its beautiful gardens. I love the large boulder in this image. I think it significantly enhances the surrounding area. There are Japanese letters engraved on it, but it’s hard to see in this picture.
Okochi Sanso Garden, Arashiyama. I’ve always wanted to step inside a picture and this framed area let us do just that!
Okochi Sanso Garden, Arashiyama. Japanese lantern, among all the colors and textures of the trees and shrubs.
Bonnie sent in so many fabulous photos from her time in Japan that we will be returning tomorrow to see more sensational fall scenes from this trip.
If you have photos of the gorgeous gardens you travelled to see over the past year, it’s still not too late to share them with the blog! Follow the NEW directions below to submit your photos to Garden Photo of the Day!
We want to see YOUR garden!
Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!
To submit, fill out the Garden Photo of the Day Submission Form.
You can also send 5–10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.
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