Design Element 4--Movement

 

    

    
The garden was designed to be experienced
    while walking, presenting a continually unfolding experience
    of color and texture. Every path curves through its entire length,
    each bend offering another surprise. The network of walkways
    contains three types: the main gravel paths, the interior paths,
    and the perimeter paths. Each gives the visitor a unique perspective.

    
To allow a more reflective appreciation
    of individual specimens and groupings, twenty-one benches
    and chairs are strategically placed throughout the garden. 

    
 


    


    


    


    The main gravel paths (above) are shown on
    the original garden plan. These generally
    provide views of the plants from low to high as they recede from
    the walkway. A complementary set of interior paths leads the
    visitor through tunnels of rhododendrons under the largest specimens.
    This route, which wanders through every bed in the garden, is
    like a walk in a rhododendron forest, where the focus is on trunks,
    branches, and the intriguing underside of the leaves.

    



    


    
While the interior, exterior and perimeter
    paths give close and medium range views, the lawns open out to
    faraway places in the garden, as well as to the Cascade Mountains
    and Mount Rainier. The grass areas are wider than the paths,
    but narrower than typical lawns, since they are also walkways.

    
A stroll through all of the paths and lawns
    in the Anderson Garden covers more than a mile.


    We encourage our visitors
    to stay on the paths, but some don't.