The rock garden surrounding the Octagonal Pool was designed so that small plants would be waist high, thus easily shown and maintained.
The original yews between the stairways have grown out of proportion, but two Alberta spruces, also original, are still fine specimens because of their slow growth. On the east side of the courtyard is the Chinese toon tree (Toona sinensis), which, because of its interesting bark, open crown and large white blooms, is an excellent companion planting with shrubs.
It has been carefully restored, and its many dwarf plants are nicely displayed. Among them are Sedum gypsicolum, a creeping evergreen from Spain, the yellow-flowered Friogonum flavum from the mountains of the western United States, and monkshood (Aconitum anthora) from the Pyrenees.
