Skagit County Master Gardener Foundation

Cultivating plants, people and communities since 1977

There are five distinct types of Japanese gardens: hill and pond, dry landscape, tea, courtyard and stroll. The Discovery Garden features the stroll design. Odd numbers of plants and stones are used in groupings and spaced unevenly. Dry rock beds symbolize rushing rivers; large rocks represent mountains. Not surprisingly, water features are an integral part of Japanese gardens.

Japanese Garden Plant List

#Botanical NameCultivarCommon NameTreeNative
1Ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens'black mondo grass
2Sagina subulataIrish moss
3Pleioblastus pygmaeapygmy bamboo
4Acer palmatum dissectum 'Red Dragon'Japanese maple
5Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'Japanese painted fern
6Fargesia dracocephala 'Rufa'red dragon’s head, clumping bamboo
7Polystichum setiferum 'Plumosomultilobum'hardy fern
8Rhododendron viscosum 'Ribbon candy'ribbon candy azalea
9Sambucus nigra 'Black Lace'black lace elderberryT
10Pieris japonica 'Purity'Japanese andromeda
11Imperata cylindrica 'Red Baron'Japanese blood grass
12Lonicera nitida 'Lemon Beauty'Oregon boxleaf, box honeysuckle
13Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca Pendula'weeping blue atlas cedarT
14Tsuga canadensis 'Pendula'Sargent's weeping hemlock
15Astilbe chinensis 'Pumila'astilbe
16vacant
17Dicentra spectabilis 'Batik'bleeding heart
18Hermodactylus tuberosus (Iris tuberosa)snake head iris, black iris
19vacant
20Elaeagnus x ebbingei 'Gilt Edge'gilt edge silverberry
21Camelliacrooked stem camellia
22Clematis armandii 'Snowdrift'evergreen clematis
23Rhododendron racemosum 'Rock Rose'rhododendron
24Rhododendron 'Unique'unique rhododendron
25Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'golden Japanese forest grass
26Iris ensatalavender Japanese iris
27Chamaecyparis obtusa 'Pigmaea Aurescens'compact bronze hinoki cypress
28Juniperus procumbens 'Nana'dwarf Japanese garden juniper
29Drypteris erythrosora 'Brilliance'autumn fern
30Polystichum munitumwestern swordfernN
31Acer palmatum 'Sango-Kaku'coral bark mapleT
32Cyclamen hederifolliumhardy cyclamen
33Mentha requieniiCorsican mint
34Rhododendronred azalea
35Acer shirasawanum 'Full Moon'Japanese maple