{"id":4333,"date":"2015-11-08T05:00:51","date_gmt":"2015-11-08T13:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=4333"},"modified":"2015-11-07T16:08:15","modified_gmt":"2015-11-08T00:08:15","slug":"the-serenity-of-a-japanese-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/culture\/the-serenity-of-a-japanese-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"The Serenity of a Japanese Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_0733\"<\/a>When you walk under the red lacquered torii gate and enter the Japanese Garden at Butchart Gardens<\/a>, you step into a world that seems far removed from the flashy, showy gardens behind you.<\/p>\n

No wonder. The aesthetic of a Japanese garden<\/a> is a far cry from that of a Western garden. Our gardens are meant to amaze. Theirs intend to inspire meditation and peace.<\/p>\n

When my sister and I visited the main part of Butchart Gardens this October, the first thing we saw after descending into the sunken garden was a huge bed of tightly-packed rose-colored chrysanthemums. \u201cWow!\u201d I shouted, pulling out my iPhone to take a picture. What else could one do with a splash of color so bright and amazing.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0704\"<\/a>A few steps farther we were dazzled by a bed of bright yellow mums \u2026 and on and on to the pink begonias and the row of multi-colored dahlias that elicited so many oohs and aahs, so much picture-taking and posing.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0749\"<\/a>By contrast, walking into the Japanese garden made me want to slow down. To stand and contemplate the lily pond. To listen to water whispering over the rocks.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0730\"<\/a>The landscape of a Japanese garden creates an illusion of nature\u2014nature tamed and miniaturized. The best parts of nature. Everything in it is real, but each element is carefully chosen for our pleasure. The most beautiful trees, the most noteworthy rocks, the sweetest little streams and waterfalls. We walk on winding paths that lead us to the surprise of a curving red bridge.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0739\"<\/a>We cross the water on conveniently-spaced stepping stones. We sit in a small pavilion and, feeling the garden\u2019s serenity and inspiration, compose a haiku and commit it to memory.<\/p>\n

This is what I remember from Butchart Garden\u2019s Japanese Garden<\/a>, although in reality, I didn\u2019t sit in the small pavilion. My sister sat there, deleting excess photos from her iPhone.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0736\"<\/a>The experience may not have been exactly what Jennie Butchart and Isaburo Kishida intended when they designed the garden more than a hundred years ago. Not with all the tourists blocking the paths and posing for selfies. Still, it would have been impossible not to feel the serenity of this beautiful Japanese garden.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0737\"<\/a>And here I am, not at my most serene best.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0750\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you enjoyed this post, tweet it or share it with your friends on Facebook or Google+.<\/p>\n

\"my<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When you walk under the red lacquered torii gate and enter the Japanese Garden at Butchart Gardens, you step into a world that seems far removed from the flashy, showy gardens behind you. No wonder. The aesthetic of a Japanese garden is a far cry from that of a Western garden. Our gardens are meant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[29,862,318],"tags":[566,1063,1058,1062,1060,1061,1059],"class_list":["post-4333","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-culture","category-gardens","category-photography","tag-autumn","tag-isaburo-kishida","tag-japanese-garden-at-butchart-gardens","tag-jennie-butchart","tag-lily-pond","tag-nature-tamed-and-miniaturized","tag-serenity"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-17T","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4293,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/travel\/butchart-gardens-a-lesson-in-problem-solving\/","url_meta":{"origin":4333,"position":0},"title":"Butchart Gardens, a Lesson in Problem Solving.","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"November 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"A problem in Jennie Butchart\u2019s backyard. We all have problems, some big, some small, some seemingly insoluble. Jennie Butchart had a huge problem: a big hideous hole in her backyard. Admittedly the hole was off to one side and the property was large. On the other hand, the hole was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Creativity"","block_context":{"text":"Creativity","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/creativity\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_0703","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_0703-e1444953071643.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_0703-e1444953071643.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_0703-e1444953071643.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12242,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/gardens\/the-serenity-of-kubota-garden-in-spring\/","url_meta":{"origin":4333,"position":1},"title":"The Serenity of Kubota Garden in Spring","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"April 19, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"On the first day of spring, two of my daughters, my son-in-law, grandson and I visited Kubota Garden in Rainier Beach, Seattle. 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