North American Japanese Garden Association & Descanso Gardens Host Southern California Symposium and Garden Tour

2-day Event To Celebrate 50-Year Anniversary of Japanese Garden in Descanso  and Features Five Asian Gardens in Southern California

Descanso Gardens, La Canada Flintridge, CA – On January 14 and 15, 2017, experts in horticulture, history and design will discuss and illustrate the Southern California experience in Japanese gardening during a symposium and garden tour organized by the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA), in cooperation with the Descanso Gardens. NAJGA is a non-profit and membership-based organization that promotes the art, craft and heart of Japanese gardening in USA and Canada.

The symposium on January 14 will commence with an indoor art tour on the concept of the Japanese garden, with a special focus on the social history of Descanso’s Japanese garden, which is commemorating its half-century existence. The influence of mid-century Japanism on the integration of gardens and architecture in Southern California and the compelling human story of Japanese plants in California will be the focus of a couple of lectures by Japanese garden historian Dr. Kendall Brown and Japanese-American garden writer Naomi Hirahara. Later in the day, Dr. Brown and Descanso Gardens Executive Director David Brown will also conduct a guided tour of the Descanso Japanese garden.
Japanese horticulturist and ikebana expert Kaz Kitajima will lead a workshop on the basic principles and techniques in black pine pruning. A camellia forest walk and tour will showcase Descanso’s exceptional camellia collection, the largest in North America and designated as an International Camellia Garden of Excellence by the International Camellia Society.

Japanese Garden at the Descanso Gardens, La Canada Flintridge, CA

On January 15, an expert-led garden tour will take participants to three important Japanese gardens and a new Chinese garden in the Los Angeles county area. Aside from illustrating the quality and diversity of garden design in California, the Storrier-Stearns Japanese Garden in Pasadena, and the SuiHoen (Garden of Water and Fragrance) at the Tillman Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys are also notable for their sustainable water use in the face of California’s challenging water situation in recent years. At over 100 years old, the Japanese garden at The Huntington in Pasadena is famously one of the oldest gardens in North America and is still evolving. Participants will also have the chance to visit the new Chinese garden at The Huntington.

Created in the 1930’s, the Storrier-Stearns Japanese Garden was restored in 2013 and is considered one of the best examples of pre-war Japanese gardens outside of Japan.

Bonsai Court at the Japanese Garden in The Huntington, Pasadena, CA

SuiHoen (Garden of Water and Fragrance) at the Tillman Reclamation Plant, Van Nuys, CA

“The Japanese gardens in southern California are true cultural and horticultural treasures, as they honor the history of Japanese-Americans in the area as well as the California ethos of innovation, sustainability and love of the outdoors,” says NAJGA board president Kimberly Andrews. “NAJGA is delighted to have the opportunity to work with Descanso Gardens, which is observing a significant milestone with its Japanese garden, and our other member gardens to promote our mission among garden professionals and enthusiasts in the Southern California area.”

For more details and to register, visit http://najga.org/Southern-California-2017. This two-day regional event is accredited as a continuing education program for members of the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) and the Association of Professional Landscape Professionals (APLD). Garden practitioners may check with their professional associations if this event is eligible for continuing education units.

     

The Journal of the North American Japanese Garden Association (Issue 3) Now Available

The third issue of The Journal of the North American Japanese Garden Association  (NAJGA) is now available in print.  The Journal is FREE to members and also available for purchase by members who wish to get additional copies and to the general public.

Member Price: $16.00 (within US), $20.00 (Canada, Japan and other countries)         General Public: $20.00 (within US), $25.00 (Canada, Japan and other countries).   Prices include postage. To order, send an e-mail to info@najga.org.

From NAJGA Journal 3 Editor K.T. Cannon-Eger:

EDITOR’S MESSAGE: New Pathways Toward a Healthier World

“The first issue of the Journal of the North American Japanese Garden Association concentrated on “Connections,” the theme of the first biennial convention held in Denver in 2012. Journal two was organized around the theme of “Lessons Learned.” Following the 2014 biennial convention in Chicago, Illinois, and with an eye toward the 2016 conference in Delray Beach Florida, this issue was organized around the theme of “New Pathways Toward a Healthier World.”

The initial hope of the first Journal to encourage landscape specialists and enthusiasts to explore articles outside their immediate areas of interest continues in this issue while we maintain a dedication to the NAJGA goals of advancement in Horticulture, Human Culture, and Business Culture.

In horticulture, we draw on one of the stalwarts of NAJGA, a garden designer and gentle speaker on the benefits to human well-being of Japanese-style landscapes. His remarks are followed by a case study of a hospital in Oregon. Delving further into horticulture, is an article on moss and its uses in gardens in Japan and around the world. This is accompanied by an excerpt from a new book of short stories, one of which speaks to remediation by moss.

Connecting several gardens is the human culture question of how gardens attract volunteers, how the volunteers are trained, and how their interest is maintained.

The business culture portion of this issue tackles two subjects. First, how do public gardens attract visitors and maintain their interest? Second, how do public gardens prepare to handle crises such as fire, flood, or storm damage?

Articles of historical interest, a book review, and obituaries round out the contents of Journal number three.

I am full of gratitude for the guidance and direction of the Board of Directors Past President and first Journal Editor Kendall H. Brown, whose knowledge and dedication are above and beyond. He has skillfully taken editorial scalpel to overly long manuscripts. His artistic sensibility and devotion to history are among other great assets to the organization and to this Journal. This issue could not have happened without the work of the editorial board. Thank you Dr. Seiko Goto, Ben Chu, and Edzard Teubert. And a great big tip of the hat to Grace Roxas Morrissey of NAJGA who keeps us all on track. Deep gratitude to all the authors, photographers, and graphic artists who have contributed their talents. Readers will find more information about the authors on a subsequent page. Welcome to Brian Pendleton of Vancouver, B.C. who is taking on editorial responsibilities for the next issue.”

Here’s a look at the Table of Contents:

 

North American Japanese Garden Association To Host Philadelphia & New York Heritage Tour & Workshop

Two-Day Event Focus On Modernist and Traditional Japanese Design In the Garden

Philadelphia, PA – On October 7 and 8, the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA) is teaming up with the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia (JASGP) to explore the adaptation and preservation of Modernist and traditional Japanese design in several garden settings found in New York and Philadelphia. NAJGA is a non-profit that promotes the art, craft and heart of Japanese gardens in USA and Canada.

The coach heritage tour on October 7 will feature prime examples of Japanese and Mid-century modern architecture in two garden estates: Kykuit at the Rockefeller estate in Tarrytown, New York with its century-old Japanese garden, and the Manitoga / The Russell Wright Design Center in Garrison, New York with its Japanese-influenced woodland garden. Also included with the tour registration is a box lunch and free admission to the Shofuso Japanese House and Garden in Philadelphia, which will be the assembly point for the tour.

Yoshimura Teahouse at Kykuit

Dragon Rock at Manitoga

“Autumn is one of the best times to be in a Japanese garden and as the leaves turn and fall away, we are better able to isolate and appreciate the architectural aspects of the garden, particularly the buildings that exist in its context,” says NAJGA board president and JASGP executive director Kim Andrews.

The work of revered Japanese architect Junzo Yoshimura will be a prime focus of this event. Aside from being the acclaimed designer of Shofuso, he also built a traditional teahouse for the Japanese garden in Kykuit. The tour will include a lecture about Yoshimura’s works as well as a viewing of the exterior of the Marcel Breuer House in Kykuit.

On October 8, Yoshimura’s legacy at Shofuso will be further scrutinized through the lenses of an ongoing heritage preservation project in a workshop that includes a Japanese carpentry demonstration, practicum on historic preservation reporting, and hinoki roof demonstration. Shofuso’s heritage preservation project aims to uphold Yoshimura’s rigorous standards for designing Shofuso using traditional Japanese design, and one of its most major components is the restoration of the roof made from the bark of the hinoki cypress. Heritage preservation experts and craftsmen skilled in traditional Japanese techniques will serve as lecturers and facilitators during the workshop.

Shofuso Japanese House and Garden

Hinoki bark roof restoration

“Our ongoing effort to meet the preservation challenges presented by Yoshimura’s uncompromising standards is also an excellent learning opportunity for everyone else interested in heritage conservation and the modern adaptation of traditional Japanese design,” says Andrews. “Knowing about how to properly report on conditions for heritage structures, for example, is a must for community custodians of these structures inside and outside the garden setting.”

The two-day event will be occurring during one of the busiest weeks in the Philadelphia design scene as it is also part of the 2016 DesignPhiladelphia festival (October 6 to 16), the oldest open-source event of its kind in the United States, and of the Docomomo US Tour Day 2016 (October 8), an annual event for raising awareness of and appreciation of buildings, interiors and landscapes designed in the US during the mid-20^th century.

This event is open to the general public. To learn more and to register, visit http://najga.org/Philadelphia-2016.

Florida Conference Explores Japanese Gardens As Places of Health, Wellness and Social Change

The North American Japanese Garden Association and the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens To Host Experts from Six Countries

The North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA) is bringing together international garden specialists from Japan, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia for two days of learning, exchange and camaraderie that focuses on understanding and utilizing Japanese gardens as nature-based therapeutic settings. NAJGA is a non-profit promoting the art, craft and heart of Japanese gardens in the US and Canada.

NAJGA’s 3rd biennial conference, “Towards A Healthier World: Japanese Gardens As Places For Wellness and Transformation,” will take place on March 7 and 8, 2016 at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, Delray Beach, FL. The conference is open to the general public and will appeal to persons interested in Japanese gardens, and in broader issues of how landscape can positively transform lives and society.

Click HERE to visit conference webpage.

The more than 40 conference presentations include research findings, case studies, best practices and garden histories related to designing, fostering and utilizing Japanese gardens as havens of healing. Speakers will talk about a wide range gardens from backyard gardens, public and university gardens, spas and other leisure industry venues, to hospices and hospitals. For garden practitioners who wish to improve their level of understanding of Japanese gardening, there will be topics related to Japanese garden design, maintenance, and fostering more creative engagement with the garden.

Click HERE and HERE for a preview of conference presentations and meet the speakers.

Photography Workshop, Garden Talk and Tours

There will be a twilight photography workshop by noted landscape and garden photographer David Cobb on March 7. Cobb is the photographer of the book Quiet Beauty: The Japanese Gardens of North America, 2013 Home & Garden book of the year for the Independent Book Publishers Association. Other special events include a lecture at the banquet by multi-awarded Morikami garden designer Hoichi Kurisu on Japanese garden design and healing, and a chance to participate in the Morikami’s pioneering “Stroll For Well-Being” program. A March 6 pre-conference bus tour visits garden and museum locations in Delray Beach and West Palm Beach.

“Wellness and Japanese gardens have been inextricably linked for centuries and there is now a growing global movement to understand the therapeutic value of nature-based settings,” said NAJGA Board President Kim Andrews. “NAJGA will connect these two historic developments through a conference that paves the way for practical applications in personal wellness and supports the well-being of whole communities.”

Palm Beach County Parks and Recreations Director Eric Call welcomes participants to Morikami. “Ensuring health and wellness opportunities for both mind and body is a core service of the department and I can’t think of a more beautiful and tranquil setting (for the conference),” he says.

Special thanks to our conference partners and sponsors:

                

       

     

Symposium & Tour Will Feature Historic Japanese Gardens In New York

On October 1 and 2, the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA) is coming to the New York area to celebrate the history and the sustainable future of its Japanese gardens in the symposium and tour entitled “Fostering Mature Cultural Landscapes: The Japanese Gardens In New York.” NAJGA is a non-profit organization that promotes the art, craft and heart of Japanese gardens in the United States and Canada.

    

The Japanese garden at Kykuit and the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden at Brooklyn Botanic Garden are both a hundred years old. 

Two New York gardens are a hundred years old, and all of them are at the forefront of the movement to preserve the legacy of Japanese Gardens in North America by fostering their relevance for our society. The October 1 garden history symposium will be held at The Pocantico Center, Tarrytown, NY. It features four speakers who care for and manage these gardens.

• Stephen Morrell, Director, John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden
• Brian Funk, Curator, Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
• Cynthia Altman, Curator, art collections and gardens at Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate.
• Kate Kerin, Landscape Curator, Innisfree Garden as well as garden historian
• Kendall Brown, Professor of Asian Art History, California State University Long Beach and NAJGA’s Board President

The talks will be followed by an afternoon guided tour of the Japanese garden and the sculpture garden built by the Rockefeller family at Kykuit in Tarrytown, NY.

The coach garden tour on October 2 will take participants from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Japanese-Hill-and-Pond Garden, to the United Nations Peace Bell Garden in NYC, to the Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden in North Salem, NY, and then to the Innisfree Garden in Millbrook, NY.

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden tour includes a visit of the special exhibition of work by the famed Japanese-American sculptor and garden-designer Isamu Noguchi. The exhibition celebrates the garden’s centenary.

The visit to the UN Peace Bell Garden, which is not normally open to the public, is an exclusive opportunity for tour participants. The historic UN Peace Bell, donated by the United Nations Association of Japan more than 60 years ago, was just recently reinstated to this newly renovated garden designed by Shin Abe of ZEN Associates. Japan’s Ambassador to the United Nations Motohide Yoshikawa will personally lead the tour. Mr. Yoshikawa was instrumental to the creation of the garden 15 years ago.

            

     

The Hammond Museum & Japanese Stroll Garden, John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden, Innisfree Garden and the UN Peace Bell Garden

“The rich history of Japanese gardens in New York may come as a surprise to many. New York City and surrounding areas have in fact produced more Japanese gardens than almost any part of North America,” says Dr. Brown, who is also the author of the popular book “Quiet Beauty: The Japanese Gardens of North America.”

He adds: “NAJGA seeks to examine the legacy of history gardens. It also provides practical wisdom for working garden professionals, scholars, and back-yard enthusiasts who create, maintain, study, and enjoy Japanese gardens as compelling spaces in our modern world.”

The two-day event is open to the public. Participation fee: 2-day attendance – $190 for NAJGA members, $250 for general public. 1-day attendance (October 1 OR October 2 only) – $95 for NAJGA members, $125 for general public. For more details and to register, go to: www.najga.org.

North American Japanese Garden Association Holds Regional Event in Minnesota this August

Five Japanese gardens in the Minnesota area will take center stage as the North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA) goes to the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” on August 7 to 8 for its first regional event of the year.

“It’s All in the Details” is a two-day skills development workshop and garden education tour featuring the following gardens: Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden at the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, St. Paul MN; Jo-Ryo-En (Garden of Quiet Listening) at Carleton College, Northfield, MN; Normandale Japanese Garden at Normandale Community College, Bloomington, MN; Seisui Tei (Garden of Pure Water) at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska, MN, and a private residential garden in St. Paul, MN attached to a Modernist house designed by American architect Ralph Rapson in the 1960s.

“Attention to detail is perhaps the most important thing in elevating gardens in America to the lofty level of those in Japan,” says NAJGA President Dr. Kendall Brown. “We are pleased to provide an experience that meaningfully connects Minnesota’s most compelling Japanese gardens to each other and to the large audience of Japanese garden lovers across North America.”

Skills Development Workshop

On August 7, the Charlotte Partridge Ordway Japanese Garden will host a workshop focused on teaching basic skills required of a Japanese gardener in constructing and maintaining a garden. It will also teach participants how to establish specific goals that enhance the presentation of a Japanese garden.

Sessions include shearing of karikomi (massed or wave planting), deciduous tree pruning, pine maintenance, layout and installation of tobi-ishi (stepping stones) and nobedan (stone paving), and working with bamboo to create the basic nanako fence that keeps guests on the path, and the yotsume gaki fence used in tea ceremony gardens.

Participants will also be introduced to design theory, construction and maintenance of the Japanese tea garden and teahouse. After the workshop, participants will also have a rare opportunity to visit the private garden attached to the Ralph Rapson-designed house in St. Paul, MN. The house and garden provide a good example of the sukiya living concept where Japanese garden principles are applied in a residential setting and rooms are integrated with the garden.

The workshop will be led by Japanese garden expert John Powell, the first Westerner selected to train with the garden staff of the prestigious Adachi Museum of Art, widely acknowledged as having one of the world’s best Japanese gardens. Other garden experts from the region and across North America will assist.

Garden Education Tour: Japanese Gardens in the North Star State

On August 8, a bus tour will visit the Jo-Ryo-en (Garden of Quiet Listening) at Carleton College, Normandale Japanese Garden, and the Seisui Tei (Garden of Pure Water) at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Four distinct styles of Japanese gardens—hill and pond, dry landscape, stroll garden, and pleasure boating garden—will be examined in three Minnesota gardens adapted to the local climate through plant choice and design. Care of Japanese gardens will be covered. Guests will also be introduced to issues of garden care, and how gardens “care” for people when utilized for therapy and meditation.

This two-day event is also open to the general public.  For more details and to register, visit the event website HERE.  Or contact NAJGA at info@najga.org, tel: (503) 222 1194.

Manzanar’s Japanese Gardens – Excerpts from the 2014-2015 NAJGA Journal

Creating Beauty Behind Barbed Wire by Jeff Burton and Mary Farrell

“A desolate prison camp in the high desert seems an unlikely place for a Japanese garden contest, let alone an outstanding collection of Japanese gardens. World War II would seem an unlikely time for Japanese Americans to assert their Japanese heritage. Yet the Japanese Americans incarcerated at the Manzanar Relocation Center, now Manzanar National Historic Site, left a legacy of beauty, resistance, and resilience in Japanese gardens.

The incarceration of almost 120,000 Japanese-Americans — most American citizens — by the US government during World War II is one of the most shameful stories in American history. The “Relocation” removed persons of Japanese ancestry from their homes, schools, and businesses on the West Coast and placed mostly behind barbed wire. Manzanar opened in March 1942 — one of ten camps — to incarcerate more than 10,000 people.

Although this episode managed to stay out of US history books for decades, it has come to light through the efforts of the Japanese-American community, civil rights advocates, historians and archaeologists.

Three of these sites are now part of the National Park Service, which is charged with educating the public to prevent similar government-sponsored racism…..”

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On the Purpose & Role of Japanese Gardens in American Internment Camps by Seiko Goto, Ph.D.

“Multiple Japanese gardens were built in all ten internment camps. Japanese gardens in Manzanar Relocation Center have been called “Momoyama-style gardens,” and summarized as an “important means for the expression of Japanese American cultural values within the regimented organization of the camp.” The question arises: why would internees facing such hardship due to their nationality decide to build gardens to express their culture? It is thus important to analyze the purpose and role of Japanese gardens in the internment camp to assess their value….

….Internment is generally the confinement of people done by a government to police people and confiscate their assets. Japanese internment in the United States, however, was unique in that these camps confined people with American citizenship based only on their ethnic background. The camp gardens were also for viewing and living, not solely for food production…

…Conditions and facilities in the camps varied. Administrators in Gila River, Granada, Manzanar, and Topaz supported garden construction and large scale gardens were made in these camps. Small ornamental Japanese gardens, however, were made in all. Poston is notable as the famous Japanese American sculptor Isamu Noguchi became the chief landscape planner…”

Read the full version of these articles in the 2014-2015 NAJGA Journal. The Journal is free to members of the North American Japanese Garden Association. To order additional copies or to order as a non-member, click HERE. 

“Centennial Gardens”: Excerpts from the 2014-2015 NAJGA Journal

Japanese gardens outside of Japan number more than 450, of which approximately 300 are in North America. Of that substantial number, fewer than 20 have reached the centennial mark. In this issue, six gardens across the continental United States and out into the Pacific were asked to share their centennial stories.

Book Review – “One Hundred Years in the Huntington’s Japanese Garden: Harmony With Nature” Book reviewer – Dr. Jill Raggett, NTF; Edited by: June T. Li; Contributors – Kendall H. Brown, James Folsom, Naomi Hirahara, Robert Hori, Kelly Sutherlin McLeod

“Every historic garden should have a book like this, a publication that brings together the physical and archival evidence about a designed landscape in a readable and engaging form. This book uncovers the stories of the origins, creators and on-going appreciation and use of the Huntington’s Japanese Garden following a year-long closure during which a $6.8 million renovation was undertaken… The garden reopened in April 2012 to mark its centennial as a beloved and iconic landscape in Pasadena, California.”

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Maymont: A Victorian Estate’s Japanese Garden, 1912                                                   Carla Murray

“Maymont, a 100-acre estate in Richmond Virginia, celebrated the centennial anniversary of its Japanese garden in 2012 with a year-long series of programs and events…Japanese gardens were among the favorite showplaces for Gilded Age showplaces such as Maymont, so it is no surprise that James and Sallie Dooley employed Japanese garden makers to plant such a landscape in the wedge-shaped section of land, adjacent to the Kanawha Canal, which they purchased in 1911.”

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Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, 1915                               Brian Funk

“In 2015, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden commemorates the centennial anniversary of the Japanese Hill and Pond Garden. The garden, initiated with a gift from philanthropist Alfred T. White (1846-1921), opened to the public on June 6, 1915. Serving as a landmark for the borough of Brooklyn and containing a rather dramatic history, this garden is among the earliest public Japanese gardens in the United States. It is a beloved garden for urbanites trying to escape the clamor of the city. It also is popular as a home to many koi, turtles, ducks, and occasionally, herons.”

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San Diego, California: The Japanese Friendship Garden
Marisa Takeuchi

“The Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego, California got its start in a different location at Balboa Park as a tea house for the 1915 Panama California Exposition. Starting several years ago, the garden embarked on a major expansion to increase its size to more than eleven acres by clearing the ravine behind the present garden. Since then, a waterfall and stream have been installed. ‘Pink Cloud’ and other cherry trees planted in a new grove bloom annually for a festival begun nine years ago….”

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Hakone Estate and Gardens in Saratoga, CA Celebrate Centennial in 2015                  Lon Saavedra

“In 1915, San Francisco philanthropists Oliver (1877-1918) and Isabel Stine (1880-1959) purchased land to establish a mountainside retreat for their family, international dignitaries, and friends of the art…The following year, Mrs. Stine sailed to Japan, where she visited various historic gardens…Upon her return to America, Mrs. Stine began work on a Japanese-style country estate and gardens in Saratoga on an eighteen-acre hillside…Hakone is one of the historic crown jewels of the Silicon Valley with a rich history of cultural events and celebrations throughout the past century.”

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Lili’uokalani Garden in Hilo: A Century-Old Tapestry Woven of Many Threads              By K.T. Cannon-Eger

“Lili’uokalani Gardens in Hilo, Hawai’i resulted from the collaboration of several women: the Queen after her rule was overthrown, an immigrant Japanese women’s society, and a Caucasian whose travels to Japan left her deeply smitten with Japanese gardens… Preparations are being made for the dual centennials in 2017 of the passing of Queen Lili’uokalani and her namesake garden…Hilo is so fortunate to have a living work of art adjacent to the ocean and with a view of the majestic Mauna Kea.”

The 2014-2015 NAJGA Journal is free to members of the North American Japanese Garden Association. To order additional copies or to order as a non-member, click HERE.

PRESS STATEMENT: NAJGA Supports Amicable Resolution Of Hannah Carter Japanese Garden Dispute

Photo: http://hannahcarterjapanesegarden.com/

February 24, 2015 – The North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA) calls on the two parties involved in the dispute over the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden in Bel-Air, California to exhaust all means possible to avoid embroiling a local social and cultural treasure in a legal confrontation.

“As the organization that champions the welfare and future of Japanese gardens in the US and Canada, NAJGA is deeply saddened to see that the final fate of the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden — long a haven of tranquility in a busy mega-metropolis — might be decided in the contentious atmosphere of a courtroom,” says NAJGA Executive Director Diana Larowe.

“The continued willingness of UCLA and Ms. Hannah Carter’s children to explore an out-of-court settlement gives us great hope that this matter will be resolved in a manner consistent with the spirit of harmony long been imparted by the garden itself,” she adds.

When the issue came to light in 2012, NAJGA joined the alliance of garden advocates expressing opposition to UCLA’s plan to offer for sale the two-acre property, which houses the more than half-a-century old garden. In a February 2012 letter to UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, the organization expressed particular alarm over the extraction of irreplaceable stone lanterns and other art items by UCLA work crews not properly trained to handle works of art.

Japanese garden scholar and current NAJGA President Dr. Kendall Brown also pointed out that of the 20 public Japanese gardens featured in his 1999 book “Japanese-Style Gardens of the Pacific West Coast,” only the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden is slated for sale and possible destruction.

To the contrary, nine of these gardens, including those at the University of British Columbia and California State University-Long Beach, are either being expanded, restored, renovated or master-planned for growth. Brown notes that the formation of NAJGA itself in 2011, with financial support from the Japan Foundation, demonstrates the resurgence of Japanese gardens in public popularity across the US and Canada.

An Important Case for All Heritage Japanese Gardens in North America

Larowe said that the outcome of the dispute over the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden will have repercussions that go beyond the fate of the garden itself.

“There are more than 250 public Japanese gardens in the US and Canada. Many of those dating back several decades are facing circumstances not unlike the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden,” she said. “Aside from being subjected to years of neglect and misplaced judgment, these gardens also face the mounting pressure of urbanization and changing land-use priorities. The Hannah Carter Japanese garden is a test case. Everyone concerned with the fate of heritage Japanese gardens in North America will be watching,” she said.

Since its launch in 2011, NAJGA has promoted awareness of these historical gardens. It also seeks to help them better serve diverse publics who increasingly seek out these spaces for relaxation, education, and creative engagement. The 2014 issue of the NAJGA Journal features stories on a handful of 100-year old Japanese gardens in the US. There are fewer than 20 of these centennial gardens despite the 150-year history of Japanese gardens in North America.

For further inquiries relating to this story, contact Diana Larowe, Executive Director, dlarowe@najga.org, (503) 222-1194

David Slawson: Finding Universal Truth in the Landscape

A rare peek at the life of Dr. David A. Slawson, one of America’s premier landscape artists working in the Japanese garden tradition. Narrated by David De Lyser.

David Slawson was the first to truly open up the secret world of the Japanese garden to the Western mind.

But before the man who wrote the “Secret Teaching in the Art of Japanese Gardens” walked among the immortals, he was a little boy of robust spirits / born in suburban Cleveland, Ohio on September 30, 1941 to a loving American midwest family. With his younger brother and friends, the suburban forests near home was their one big playground.

The woods were also a place for the young David to dream. He became attuned early on to magical places in the landscape.

On a voyage of self-discovery as a young man serving with the US Marines, David found Japan and its gardens and never looked back.
He remembers sitting for two hours on the veranda at Ryoan-ji, contemplating the rock garden from different vantage points until their sensory qualities and special character sunk in.

Inspired by those gardens in Japan, David would create his first moss garden and stepping stone path in his parents’ backyard. Even to his then untutored mind, it was dawning on him that here was a way to capture the magical places of his childhood.

Years later, as apprentice to renowned garden master Dr. Kinsaku Nakane in Kyoto, he felt an even more powerful attraction to certain gardens in Japan, gardens that have centuries of applied aesthetic techniques behind them for evoking the essence of landscape.

He was particularly attracted to gardens with “craggy rocks and gnarled trees,” that created a sense of being ancient and remote… infinite worlds compressed into a small space.

It was while observing Nakane orchestrate the placement of rocks and plants to recreate impressions of natural landscape, much as a landscape painter would create such impressions with brush and paper, that David realized the power of the Japanese garden art form to evoke the kind of beauty he was drawn to.

A scholar of East Asian philosophies, David’s deep appreciation of aesthetic values nurtured by Ch’an Buddhism and Taoism also provided a pillar for his apprenticeship.

David’s quest for an even deeper understanding of the art eventually led him to write “Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardens.” This seminal work is also a culmination of his personal journey of learning.

After discovering the garden aesthetics of Japan, David went full circle, rediscovering the beauty of his native country in a special way.

His idea of taking inspiration from regional landscape, rather than the gardens he had seen in Japan evolved in the decades after his apprenticeship with Nakane.

He has also shared his knowledge and artistry to Japanese gardening enthusiasts across North America through lectures and workshops.

The Garvan Woodlands Gardens in Hot Springs, Arkansas, one of his most recent major creations, fully crystallized his vision of using naturally occurring scenery as design inspiration.

His garden creations have truly come to exemplify the true American garden.