Addison's Dry Rock Garden
This hidden gem can be found on the west side of the event venue. It has an eight-stone grouping representing the immortals (godly spirits that guide one’s life). The dry landscape technique is a combination of stones and sand to suggest water and mountains. Boulders are placed to represent islands (a piece of land in an infinite ocean), an eagle’s nest, and mountains of Japan’s diverse landscape. The largest rock in the entire garden can be found at the far right, it weighs in excess of 7 tons.
In a Japanese Garden, Zen Gardens are intended to be a place for meditation. The dry landscape is based on the art of existential emptiness and nothingness, providing a meditative character to the garden.
Patterns are raked into the stone to suggest a ripple pattern, representing water, or other patterns such as peacocks. This raking is done in the traditional Japanese style with four and eight tined rakes. These rakes were handmade by Rick Knight, the zoo’s horticulturist, and grounds manager.
Rick's Rock
Rick’s Rock, a unique stone befitting its’ namesake, is a tall stone with a dramatic pink band. Rick Knight picked this rock to go in this exact location because of how much he loved the pink band and feeling of this rock.
