North Alabama Japanese Garden
A one-acre garden in Monte Sano State Park, Huntsville.
Tended by volunteers since 1988.
Hidden just off the road in Monte Sano State Park, this garden began as one man's hobby in a boggy corner of the mountain. Over thirty years later, it holds a tea house, a koi pond, a stone bridge, bamboo paths, and 24 haiku carved in stone. It is small and quiet and worth the walk.
The Tea House
Built in 1991 to give the garden its Japanese character, the open-air tea house sits beside a koi pond and serves as the setting for traditional tea ceremonies during the Spring Festival and Autumn Celebration.
The Garden's StoryThe Haiku Path
Twenty-four stones along a walking path, each etched with an original haiku by local poets Terri L. French and Peggy Hale Bilbro. Poems inspired by what grows and lives on this mountain.
documented from the
stone engravings]