THE JAPANESE TUIN IN DEN HAAG

Not so long ago…during the second half of 19^th century and the first half of the twentieth century, there lived a baroness with the name Marguerite M. Baroness van Brienen (more popularly known as Lady Daisy) in the Hague. She was rich, needless to say, and owned the country estate of Clingendael in Wassenaarseweg.

Lady Daisy loved Japan and sailed to Japan several times and every time she visited Japan, she brought back to the Netherlands rare Japanese plants, lanterns, sculptures and little bridges. She preserved them and converted a small part of her huge estate into a Japanese garden (“Tuin”) during the beginning of the 20^th century.

To this day, this garden is preserved and loved by locals and admired by every visitor. However, this garden is extremely fragile, and considering the historical significance of this garden, it is opened to public for 2 weeks during autumn (October) and 6 weeks during spring (April May).

If you are in the Hague during these months, do find sometime to explore this little paradise. Its located less than three km from the Hague Central and can be easily reached my public buses (No. 23) to Wassenaarseweg. A really surreal experience awaits you here.

I visited this garden last autumn when every leaf was possessed with the beauty of colorful flowers. More on this garden once I experience the cherry blossom here in April.

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