Chinese Garden Poetry

Today I visited The Portland Classical Chinese Garden and was enchanted.



Oh, the blossoms, the waterfall, the pool, and the names of the pavillions, such as "Painted Boat in Misty Rain," and "Cherry Blossoms on Cracked Ice." In fact, poetry is one of the five elements of the classical Chinese garden, along with plants, water, stones and architecture.

A couplet painted in the Celestial Hall of Permeating Fragrance:

10,000 flowers dare to blossom in the snow
A single tree leads the world in greeting spring. - Lan Su Yuan.

For surely we should inhabit poetry, come under its roof, touch the underside of its leaves and hear its gurgle, as often as we can in our busy lives.

If you had a garden of poetry, what would it look like? Which poems would you include?