Hakone is a masterpiece of horticultural beauty throughout the year as one observes a visual symphony of plantings blooming and colors changing each month of the seasons. Decades ago, the garden designers planted a choreography of foliage and flowering plants whose seasonal displays feature a different highlight. Hakone is famous for the spring blossoming of wisteria, cherry blossoms, and a wide variety of Japanese maples. Summer brings the blooming of water plants, groundcover, shrubs and trees. Autumn's magnificent colors include the bright hues of golden reds, oranges and yellows slowly spreading throughout the gardens. Winter reveals the stark beauty of deciduous and coniferous plants and the spectacular blooms of the camellias.

A brief monthly highlight of plantings in bloom include: