A Touch of Japan in Seattle

What a beautiful autumn we are living through here in Seattle. It seems that the weather wants to make up for the miserable August... The sky is high, leaves are starting to colour and the warmth of the days keeps my thoughts away from the coming rainy and cold season.

The great blue heron.

We seem to have found a new favourite - a couple of times, my daughters and I have visited the Seattle Japanese Garden, which forms a part of the Washington Arboretum. There is something special to tempt the girls: a packet of fish food can be bought for one dollar at the gate, and then they can feed the koi/carps and small turtles swimming in the pond. As the garden is quite small, just 3.5-acres, so I can stroll around myself and leave the girls to the fish and the turtles. Also, on our first visit we were lucky to see the great blue heron hunting frogs amongst the waterlilies.

Turtles basking in the sun.

The Seattle Japanese Garden was designed in 1959-60 by Juki Iida, a designer of over 1000 Japanese gardens worldwide. He also supervised the building project, selecting more than 500 huge boulders by himself from the Cascade Mountains, wrapping them into bamboo mats to avoid damage during the transport to the gardens. He placed the rocks according to his plan and also arranged thousands of plants to represent different scenes found in Japan. There is also a small tea house, donated by the people of Tokyo and re-built after a fire in 1973.

As so many esthetically interested people, I do find Japanese gardens very appealing - serene, beautiful and timeless. I have visited several gardens in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara and Kamakura, and found them completely breathtaking. I also have read about them and their symbolism, but I still always feel how limited my understanding about them is. Like so many of its finest expressions, the Japanese culture takes time to understand and to reveal its meanings. Sometimes I wonder if it really is possible to understand another culture and it's expressions without being born into it, or at least having lived within it for a long time. Cultures do take time; it is extremely difficult to change perspective from one's own and to be sensitive enough to catch the finer nuances of another.

Path with moss.

The Seattle Japanese Garden, like so many other fine Japanese gardens outside Japan, is a lovely reminder of the beauty of the original gardens. A graceful and even handsome achievement on its own, it still is only just that - a reminder that gives you a hint of how the real thing might be. And that, naturally, is unavoidable; just look at the huge conifers surrounding the garden and you directly know you are not even near Kyoto or Tokyo. And it is not just the vegetation, also the light falls differently here than in Japan.

An old, beautiful wisteria trellis.

Not wanting to sound too severe, there is always some of this in gardens made in different "styles" around the world - the English, the French, the Mediterranean, the Japanese, the Italian... the list is long. Private or public, these gardens often are like exotic pieces that are "neither/nor": they are neither part of their surroundings by blending in the natural and cultural landscape, nor convincing for the viewer as their environs directly give away the real location, disturbing the intended effect. And here we tread on dangerous paths... as much of the history of gardens of course is about how stylistic influences have been used and developed further by the garden designers and architects to suit the aesthetic and practical purposes of the gardens being created.

Despite the words above, a well executed garden, as the Seattle Japanese Garden and so many others, can give true pleasure for the visitor, without the costly investment in visiting the originals in their countries. They of course have an important role in learning their communities more about the faraway countries and their cultures. And by offering something that not many gardens in Japan do - that is, letting the children to feed the carps - the Seattle Japanese Garden hopefully even transfers the enjoyment of the Japanese garden art to the next generations.

Icons, connected

Thomas Church: El Novillero in Sonoma, California, pool with Adaline Kent's sculpture.

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While reading the newest addition to my already too extensive collection of garden related books, Thomas Church's Gardens Are for People (published 1955), I suddenly noticed that I had never reflected over who made the beautifully flowing sculpture which forms the focal point of the iconic swimming pool in the Donnell garden called "El Novillero" in Sonoma, Northern California. This garden is probably the most well-known garden designed by Thomas Church, and it has become an icon of modern, Californian garden design. After the completion of "El Novillero" in 1948 pictures of it were widely published in popular magazines and professional journals, and it had a huge influence in the design of gardens and pools even internationally. In Garden's Are for People, I finally found the name of the sculptor: Adaline Kent (1900-1957), member of a group that sometimes has been called the "West Coast Surrealists".

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Alvar Aalto's Villa Mairea in Noormarkku, Finland, pool with organic form between the house and the sauna.

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After some research on Adaline's work and life, I found a note about Church's visit to Europe in 1937. On that trip he met Alvar Aalto in Finland. A lot has been said about the influences for the pool in Donnell garden - for example, in Modern Gardens in the Landscape (1964), Elisabeth Kassler notes that the form was inspired by the winding creeks of salt marches seen through the frame of live oaks. But to me, the connection is there directly - obvious just by looking at the similarly shaped pool at Alvar Aalto's masterpiece Villa Mairea (1938-39) in Noormarkku, about 130 km North from my hometown Turku in Finland. Aalto was already working on Villa Mairea in 1937 when Church came to visit him, and Aalto's architecture with it's informal, organic, and curvilinear forms made a lasting impression on Church.

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Sauna and pool at Villa Mairea.

There they are, two of the most beautiful houses and gardens of the last century; both icons on their own. Their creators came to similar conlusions despite the different geographical locations - one in the warm Californian climate, the other on brink of the Arctic circle. Who was influenced by whom? Does it matter? Both are examples of the best of the 20th century modern architecture and design, by architects who were committed to creating beautiful and livable environments for their customers, and they both are timeless, as beautiful today as they were when they were designed.

Pictures are not taken by me this time: the first is by Kent Porter/The Press Democrat, the second found on the Internet for a long time ago (sorry about that), and the third by Joyelle.

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Later update: Marc Treib takes up this connection in his essay 'Maturity and Modernity', in the book 'Thomas Church Landscape Architect, Designing a Modern California Landscape' (William Stout Publishers, San Fransisco, 2003). This book, edited by Treib, is an excellent collection of essays, all examining Church's work from different aspects.

Meadows, meadows everywhere

Meadow gardening in Sweden in the 1930s. Picture by Sven A. Hermelin, published in Hem i Sverige 1935.

Meadow gardening has really taken off during the recent years and seems to create as much headlines here in the U.S. as it does in Sweden and other European countries. One of the most beautiful books in this area is the late Christopher Lloyd's "Meadows" (Timber Press, 2004), a captivating guide about how to preserve grasslands, and establish and maintain meadows. Of course, other excellent books exist, but I am a long time fan of Christopher Lloyd's writing, which always is extremely well-informed, entertaining and lively. (Sadly, he died just before my first visit to Great Dixter, and wandering there knowing he would never be gardening or writing again was a very sad moment. It is strange how some writers make you feel like you would know them personally - for me, I really felt like I had lost a close friend, even if I never met him).

Meadow at Great Dixter. The strictness of the huge Taxus topiary figures contrast so well with the dainty meadow flowers. And my daughters are taking in all the beauty.

Meadows as a gardening practice are decendants of two different origins: natural meadows, and a farming practice, which resulted in meadows. A natural meadow is a perpetual grassland - a habitat of rolling or flat terrain where grasses predominate. These grasslands are so called climax ecosystems that are capable of sustaining themselves; environmental factors restrict the growth of woody plants and therefore the grasslands are kept clean of shrubs and trees, which otherwise would succeed the grasses. Some typical environments for natural meadows are the alps, coasts, deserts and the prairies, all with harsh growing conditions (cold, wind, salt, heat, drought).

The meadow in my garden in Saltsjöbaden - kept in bay by the cold and salty winds from the sea, but still needing maintenance to keep out the unwanted invaders.

Meadows formed also as a result from the ancient farming practice of growing winter feed for the cattle on open land. The grasses were cut down in the end of the summer and carted away and their seeds were left on the fields, and so could regenerate the vegetation the following spring. Pastures are not really meadows as they are continuously grazed by animals that keep the grass short the whole season.

Beautiful, seaside pastureland with grazing sheep at Beachyhead, East Sussex; I warmly recommend it as a a wonderful place to visit.

Meadow gardening and "prairie style" gardening have been popular since the 1990's when Piet Oudolf's and Oehme & van Sweden's designs (only mention a very few) got a lot of space in the gardening magazines. And of course, Christopher Lloyd's many books, with beautiful pictures of lovely meadows have had an enormous impact. In my research for my first garden history thesis, I found some wonderful articles in Swedish gardening magazines from the 1930s promoting meadows in gardens, as the first picture above. During the 1930s, meadows as an agricultural practise was disappearing and many garden writers were worried about that the cultural and ecological environments would disappear as well. One of the most popular garden architects in Sweden during that time, Sven A. Hermelin, suggested using meadows instead of lawns in gardens, as they are more esthetically pleasing and give a larger biodiversity than the monotonity of a close-cut lawn. It just took another 60 years before his thoughts became popular... is nothing ever new in gardening?

A birds-eye view of the meadow towards the moat and the pavillion at Sissinghurst, with mown paths, roses and fruit trees in the grass. I took this picture from Vita Sackville-Wests writing tower.

Later update: see also my post European meadows, American meadows.

Black Sun

Black Sun by Isamu Noguchi (1969).

I've always loved Isamu Noguchi's designs - both furniture, sculpture and gardens. In front of the Seattle Asian Art Museum there is an excellent example of his work: the Black Sun from 1969. I love the heavy, flowing, organic form, contained within the eternity of the circle. And the little "bottom" seen at the right side of the circle (or maybe it isn't, but that's how I see it), it just adds a touch of surprise and wit to the massive sculpture.

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Displaying sculpture outdoors gives it an extra dimension. It seems that both the viewer and the work (sculpture, that is) can breath more freely when placed in open air. Or just as Tina writes on her blog The Garden Design Chronicle:

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"More often than not I find sculpture soothing. I’m not really sure why this is. I like the interaction the artworks have with the surrounding environment something that you really do not obtain in a gallery. There is no interaction. They are merely objects in space, demanding your full attention. Perhaps I like the fact that the outdoors reduces the artworks demands on you. I feel free to take them in or not. I feel free to eat a sandwich, read a book, close my eyes. None of which I can do in a gallery. A sculpture garden allows me to be human."

The view towards downtown Seattle makes a dramatic background to the Black Sun. I just wonder how it would look like on a more serene site, with lots of lush green around and waves of the sea quietly lapping behind it...? Anyway, The Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, N.Y. is high up on my "what to do during the U.S. years" list! (the sculpture garden is being renovated and will re-open in November 2008).

The Seattle Asian Art Museum seen throught the Black Sun.

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Quote of the Day

For fast acting relief; try slowing down.

- Lily Tomlin

(picture taken by me at Chelsea Flower Show 2007)

Volunteer Park Conservatory

The Volunteer Park Conservatory

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Sometimes your GPS leads you to places you did not really think of visiting - at least just then. These mistakes can sometimes turn out really well. Last February, when we were visiting Seattle to try to figure out where to live, the GPS in our rental can directed us to Seattle Asian Art Museum, instead of Seattle Art Museum. This meant that I found Volunteer Park Conservatory on this first trip to Seattle. I felt directly much more friends with the city as this place was just like one of my old favourites in Sweden, the Palm House at the Garden Society of Gothenburg.

Palm House at Volunteer Park

The Palm House in Gothenburg was erected in 1878 and Volunteer Park Conservatory in 1912. Though on a small scale, they share a similar history. Both were fashioned after the Crystal Palace in London, the huge cast iron and glass structure by Joseph Paxton which housed the Great Exhibition of 1851 (and burned down in 1936). Volunteer Park Conservatory is situated on Capitol Hill in Seattle, and the park surrounding it was designed by John Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (nephew-stepson and son of Frederick Law Olmsted Sr., well known for his design for N.Y. Central Park). It was manufactured in New York and shipped to Seattle.

Palm House at Volunteer Park

Volunteer Park Conservatory has five houses representing different environments from the world. The entrance leads you directly to the Palm House, with many species of palms, an Orchid Collection, anthuriums from Hawaii and Central America, Crotons, Musa (banana) and Hedychium (ginger) plants.

Fern House at Volunteer Park

To the left from the Palm House, you come to the Fern House, which numerous species of ferns and other tropical plants. Also, this house has a collection of primitive plants from the dinosaur era and diverse carnivorous plants. The permanent plant collections are "hotted up" with displays of exotic seasonal plants, such as Brugmansias, Aristolochias, Passifloras, Begonias etc. In my eyes, a little less would have done more, but I'm sure many of the visitors appreciate these colourful additions.

Bromeliad House at Volunteer Park

Bromeliad House contains a large collection of well... members of the bromeliad family, of which pineapple is one of the most well-known ones. Many of these plants are epiphytes attaching themselves on rough sufraces as tree branches or rocks. Tillandsias are also shown in this room.

Cactus House at Volunteer Park

The fourth house is the Seasonal Display House, which I found quite boring (this time) with lots of blue Hydrangeas and other uninteresting plants. The only quite interesting plant here was the Amorphophallus titanum, which is expected to flower again some time in late July 2008. This plant was discovered in 1878 by Italian botanist and explorer Odoardo Beccari (1843-1920) in Sumatra, at the height of plant hunting during the Victorian era. It has the largest undivided inflorescence of all plants, and reminds of... well, just what it's name means.

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Cactus House at Volunteer Park

Cactus House at Volunteer Park

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The fifth and last room is the Cactus House, with cacti and succulents, all adapted to dry and hot conditions. As the leaflet from Volunteer Park says, all cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. Last February, when I visited this conservatory for the first time, many of the cacti were flowering vibrantly. Now, most of them were just looking prickly - or maybe I was born far too North to really appreciate their beauty.

Cactus House at Volunteer Park

Cactus House at Volunteer Park.

Gates in Medina

This entrance makes definately a statement, and the garden behind is full of interesting, huge, modern sculptures. Nothing for the cottage-gardeners...

This morning, I had a lovely walk following the "Points trail" through Clyde Hill to Yarrow Point, Hunts Point and Evergreen Point. From there the trail took me to Medina, an area with amazingly large gardens and houses. Many of them can't be seen from the road, you just can imagine what is hiding behind the large expanses of lawns, huge trees and meticously kept plantings. The houses represent all styles, from old traditional to really bold modern ones - some of which are really beautiful (and some downright ugly...). Anyway, here's a collection of gates that I found either interesting and/or beautiful!

A sober and quite elegant gate, with a beautiful drive surrounded by mature trees and an evergreen hedge. I wonder how the house looks like?

A beautifully carved, neglegted old gate. The fence is gone since long and moss is covering the gate. Where did it lead in the past? Nothing seems to be behind it, only weeds and overgrown bushes.

French chateau-style, anybody? Maybe the house is a miniature of Versailles...? (These gates are at least 3m high).

Gates with Edvardian touch, with a small gatekeepers house behind. Beautifully executed in timber.

Washington Park Arboretum

Yesterday I visited the Washington Park Arboretum, a huge urban green space on the shores of Lake Washington just east of downtown Seattle. The Arboretum was designed by James Dawson of the Olmsted Brothers firm (Frederick Law Olmsted is noted for the plan for New York's Central Park together with Calvert Vaux), and was developed in the 1930's.

On totally 230 acres of land almost in the middle of the city, the Arboretum has over 20,000 trees, shrubs and vines, more than 10,000 of which are catalogued in collections. 4,600 different species are cultivated varieties from around the world. Collections include rhododendron, azalea, mountain ash, pine, spruce, cedar, fir, crabapple, holly, magnolia, camellia, and Japanese maple.

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I found it quite amazing to see such variety of plants (some of them trees over 30 meters high) so centrally located in Seattle. It is a great asset for the inhabitants of a city to have this kind of green area to enjoy - during our visit, the park was full of families, joggers and citizens just enjoying their day in the cool shade of the trees.

The plan of the park lends itself well to walking and jogging around, the paths wind and curve gently in the landscape and there is always something new to discover behind the bends. Some of the "displays" (if you can call living trees so...) are arranged in botanical order, which makes them somewhat boring. Clumps of different species of mountain ashes are far more botanically interesting than visually so. But there are areas of great esthetic interest, as the Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden, the Woodland Garden or the Japanese Garden. For the moment, the climbing roses are in bloom and I saw a spectacular Rosa mulliganii climbing up a young Western red cedar, Thuja plicata (which was about 15 meters high, see below). It made the tree look like a young bride covered in white roses or... a Christmas tree in the middle of the summer!

What I would have liked to see in this arboretum was plant tags on all trees, even the largest ones, showing the exact names of the species. Now I could only find them on the smaller trees and shrubs, which made me a bit disappointed as I really wanted to learn about the trees of this part of the world. Otherwise, the Arboretum is definately worth a visit and there's a risk that it will become one of my favourite places in Seattle!

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Quote(s) of the day

For those interested in garden design:

A garden without trees scarcely deserves to be called a garden.
- Henry Ellacombe


For those thinking more in economic terms:

Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
- Warren Buffett

And for those who just like general wisdom:

Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
- Abraham Lincoln

Trees are good

We have been melting away here i Seattle the last couple of days. The temperature has been over 90 degrees F/ 33 degrees C. Which has reminded me of one of my favourite "babies" - that trees are good. Not just for the climate (or reversing the CO2 change) but also for providing shade and keeping us cool.

It is sad to see how often the builders cut off all the trees when building. Of course it is a question of economical resources, but I really hope that more people would understand the value of mature trees for the environment. Not only the ecological value, but also esthetic and historical value of them.

I Saltsjöbaden, I took a couple of pictures of an beautiful house from the early 1900's, which got new owners and shortly thereafter was disfigured forever as they did not understand the value of the trees srrounding it. Now the house stands without "any framing", looking just tired and old. Even the old, beautiful oaks, normally appreciated even by the most ardent "tree-haters", were pruned back "to rejuvenate them". Something that you don't think would be needed with oaks, as normally the older oak, the better & more beautiful! It is so sad to see that the new owners do not see that the old trees are a big part of the charm of these older suburbs, part of their history that can't be bought for any money. It will take generations to repair the wounds like in this garden.

Here in Seattle, I've been confronted with even more dramatic kind of building practices: literally everything on the lot is bull-dozed off. So all that is left is a plain area of rubble and concrete rests. And after building the house, the whole area is landscaped again. But the trees won't be there for a couple of decades to give their dimension for the gardens. And in this heat, you have to turn on your A/C instead of getting their shade for free. I'm just wondering, as we are trying to be so green and environmentally correct these days, why don't we make this connection and start caring for the trees?