Before the window one plants bamboo, and between the courtyards pear trees. The moonlight lies like glittering water over the countryside. The wind sighs in the trees and gently touches the lute and the book that lie on the couch. The dark, rippled mirror of water swallows the half moon. Peaceful words describing a garden scene, now complete with plants.
China is a large country embracing many climate and vegetation zones.
Plants in the garden represent the local flora, sometimes subtropical, other times trees or flowers found in higher latitudes. Favored deciduous trees include ginkgo, silktree, ash, plane tree, magnolia, dawn redwood, weeping willow, Japanese maple, and Chinaberry to name a few. Flowering plants include camellias, gardenia, rhododendron, oleander, jasmine, St. Johnswort, orchids, plum, peach, apricot, cherries, redbud, hydrangia, weigela, forsythia, and quince. Bamboos are almost always seen. Architectural structures in the Chinese garden include walls often topped by tiles.