Bamboo grove in Kairaku-en

The Japanese gardens are planned so that they will look great in any season. For the winter period, there are three plants known as Suihan Sanyou, the "Three Friends of Winter": the pine (matsu), the bamboo (take) and the plum tree (ume).

While the pine and the plum tree are integrated with other plants, the bamboo is planted separately, in groves crossed by small paths, like in today's photo, taken inside the Kairaku-en garden of Mito, one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan (Nihon Sanmeien).