Karesansui vs Zen Garden: Karesansui, also known as dry landscapes or raked sand gardens, are sometimes misleadingly referred to in Western culture as 'Zen gardens'. In his Japanese Garden Handbook, Andrew R Deane addresses this misapplication in Chapter 5: The...
LISTEN TO PODCAST HERE In this special episode of the NAJGA podcast, hosts Jan Liverance and Marisa Rodriguez are joined by two remarkable guests—Dr. Bonnie Clark and Greg Kitajima—for a moving conversation about gardens, resilience, and the enduring legacy of...
DETAILS Date: Thursday, January 30 2025Time: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm PSTVenue: Virtual Event Event Categories: Current Event | Virtual DiscussionWinter Lights Displays in Japanese Gardens - A Panel Discussion Calendar Link: WINTER LIGHTS DISPLAYS Participating...
"Ryoanji, located in Kyoto, Japan, is not the first karesansui, or dry landscape garden. But it is undoubtedly the most famous one. Karesansui are deeply associated with Zen Buddhism, and their simplicity and abstraction make them very different from Western or...
Who can pinpoint the exact moment an obsession takes root? For me, it began in Brooklyn, New York, before I turned 10. Less than a mile from our home stood the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, home to America's first public Japanese garden. My mother often took me there;...
Metro Parks, the city of Tacoma, WA and their local sister city organization hosted a visit with Mr. Kondo in August. Mr. Kondo is from Tacoma's Japanese sister city, Kitakyushu. Mr. Kondo is a carpenter who will restore the Shinto shrine in the Japanese garden at...
The term “tea garden” is used for three kinds of gardens, all historically sanctioned yet differing greatly in style and function. Why?
Tell us a little about yourself: in particular, when and why did you become a gardener and a garden writer? I became a gardener in 2008 when my family and I moved to a rural Iowa house in the country on five acres (lots of room for gardens). My husband had grown up...
