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The majority of the wild flowers bloom in May, but from late 
March or early April, when the hepaticas are the first to blossom, 
until fall, when the golden-rods and asters show their colorful 
blooms, there is something of interest to be seen in the Local Flora 
Section. 
The next special garden to be developed was the Japanese Gar- 
den, covering about an acre, a gift of Mr. Alfred T. White in 
1914. It is an oriental garden in the true sense, having been 
designed by a Japanese architect, Mr. Takeo Shiota, and, since 
1919, has been under the care of Miss Mary Averill, Honorary 
Curator of Japanese Gardening and Floral Art, who spent many 
years in Japan devoting herself to the study of these subjects. 
It is a garden embodying the oriental idea of a place for contem- 
plation, not for activity. Its beauty is maintained throughout the 
year by the use of rocks, which form a deep gorge in the hill 
bounding one side of the garden, by cascades of water flowing over 
these rocks into the lake, and by the use of artistically placed ever- 
greens, the latter meticulously pruned to keep them in scale. The 
significance of the design of the Japanese Garden, which illustrates 
certain oriental ideas, and of the architectural features, may be ob- 
tained from the Guide written by an oriental for occidental visitors 
to the garden. 
The beauty of the flowering cherry by the tea house and the 
wisteria blossoms gracefully drooping over the rocks near the 
waterfall are especially appreciated in the Japanese Garden because 
the blossoms are in contrast to the evergreens which make the back- 
ground. The restrained use of single clumps of Japanese iris near 
the water’s edge is equally enchanting. Even to those who make 
no attempt to understand its significance, the quiet charm of this 
bit of oriental landscape offers a welcome retreat from the city’s 
tempo and noise. 
In 1917, the Rock Garden was opened to the public. It contains 
many interesting alpine and saxatile plants. There, on a boulder- 
strewn slope, several hundred species of these plants, which require 
very specialized conditions for growth, are displayed. There is 
no month in the year when something of interest may not be 
found, but the most colorful masses of blossoms appear in May. 
The rocks which provide the background for this ecological exhibit 
