On the first day of spring, two of my daughters, my son-in-law, grandson and I visited Kubota Garden in Rainier Beach, Seattle. It’s a big garden, 20 acres, so we had a nice walk.
Japanese gardens have their own style and philosophy. You shouldn’t expect them to wow you with bright seasonal flowerbeds. Don’t look for trimmed grass, shaped trees, geometric shapes, statues, or paved fountains. Their designers intend to create a tranquil, idealized microcosm of nature, a peaceful place for reflection.
If you want something to knock your socks off, visit RoozenGaarde in Skagit Valley, WA or Butchart Gardens in British Columbia, Canada.
A Japanese gardener may plant every tree in the garden, dig holes for ponds, bring in fish and ducks and boulders, but their intention is to make it look natural. They can throw in a cute red bridge and a rugged bench for meditation. That’s okay. But the paths must curve and lead to unseen places. And everything should look wild and spontaneous.
They work especially well in Western Washington since our climates are similar. Mr. Kubota, the designer and previous owner of Kubota Garden, was a 1907 immigrant from Japan. He started the garden as a nursery for his landscaping business. Unfortunately, his career was interrupted by the Second World War when he and his family were interned at Camp Minidoka in Idaho. After the war, though, he and his sons went back to his work in landscape design.
In fact, Mr. Kubota and his sons were the landscapers responsible for the campus grounds of my alma mater, Seattle University.
Although my mother is a very keen gardener, the gene jumped over me and my siblings. But I do love gardens for walking in, and there’s no doubting that Japanese gardens are the most pleasing and the most peaceful. I’d love to learn more about the art of their design, as it must be fascinating and I imagine it shares a number of principles with feng shui.
Very inviting garden. Thanks, Nicki.
It wasn’t spectacular, but it was a pleasant place to walk with my family who were visiting from Pennsylvania.
A delightful tour
Thank you, Derrick.
I love Kubota gardens. Time to visit there again. Thanks for the reminder.
I’d never been there before. This may also be a good time to visit Seattle U to see how their gardens have changed since I graduated.
I love the peacefulness of Japanese gardens. No chaotic colors to assault you and no weird structures to figure out. Just peace.
We visited on a weekend. It would undoubtedly be even more peaceful on a weekday.
I knew I could count on your blog, Nicki, for beautiful photos of your walk! Thank you for taking us to the Kubota Garden! I’m reminded of when I visited Suzhou in China. I had a Western view of gardens as you mentoned above. The curved walks, trees, pagodas, and ponds with koi fish were all new to me.
We also visited some beautiful gardens in China. I particularly remember one that had a curved bridge over a big lotus pond filled with beautiful lotus leaves and flowers and big, healthy koi. Across the bridge was a small open-air restaurant that served dishes featuring lotus root.
Lotus is a symbol of purity because it rises out of murky waters to bloom unstained.
I recall so many buildings and areas having a rounded gate or door.