These two gardens complement the Japanese aesthetic found throughout Shinjuku Gyoen. In addition, they are a reflection of the importance placed on European standards of art and high culture by the imperial family in the nineteenth century and at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The Formal Garden is a beautiful symmetrical garden flanked by rows of sycamore trees. When it was designed in the nineteenth century, the feature for which it is best known today — the beautiful rose beds surrounding the center of the garden — was not included. Today the carefully designed Formal Garden leads to a graveled open area that separates it from the contrasting broad expanse of the more naturally designed Landscape Garden. Originally there were plans for a palace where the graveled area is.
The Landscape Garden features a wide, open lawn with tulip trees, Himalayan cedars, and other large trees planted mostly around the periphery. There are many cherry trees (sakura) that are quite beautiful in this setting in the spring. The straight line of sight that extends from the Formal Garden across the open field of the Landscape Garden and beyond is known as the Vista Line.