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PATHWAY TO SERENITY The Japanese garden is an oasis of quiet symbolism and harmony. Exhibit takes you there. 'SENSE OF PLACE' EXHIBITS DIVERSE GARDEN TIPS

July 14, 2007 1:22 am

For The Free Lance-Star

THE JAPANESE GARDEN at the U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory in Washington, D.C., encompasses less than 300 square feet, but the lush green plants, strategically placed stones and antique water basin provide visitors a calming, spiritual message.

"The Japanese garden should be a tranquil place," said Virginia Harmon, a gardener with the Botanical Garden who meticulously tended the terrace entrance as visitors meandered by. "It should purify your soul when you view it or when you walk through it. This style of garden is symbolic of spiritual purification. There's a feeling of harmony, respect, purity and tranquillity."

The replica garden created by the Japanese Garden of Portland, Ore., is one of a dozen replica gardens on display outside the conservatory. The "Sense of Place" display, on exhibit through Oct. 8, celebrates the beauty and diversity of America's public gardens. More than 300,000 visitors are expected to visit the conservatory during that time.

Portland's Japanese Garden, operated by the Japanese Garden Society of Oregon, is one of two gardens from the West Coast, and the only Japanese garden in the exhibit. A recent survey conducted by The Journal of Japanese Gardening described the Portland garden as among the finest outside of Japan.

Japanese master gardener Toru Tanaka designed the miniature garden at the conservatory. A native of Japan, he has created noted gardens around the country and serves as an adviser for the Portland Japanese Garden. He operates a landscape design and management company in Portland.

He and head gardener Michael Condo spent about a week in May creating the garden at the conservatory. The space highlights the use of stone, water and plants as they might appear in a garden surrounding a traditional tea house.

"I tried to convey a sense of the broad array of styles represented in our garden in Portland," said Tanaka in a press release.

"We have five styles in the Portland Japanese Garden, representing various developments in garden design over the long history of gardens in Japan. I combined elements from each of these styles into a harmonious design to give a sense of the special character of our gardens in Portland."

On this early morning, the garden rests in the capable hands of Harmon, who carefully rakes swirling ruts into the gravel path. She studied Japanese gardening in Japan and at the Portland garden under the tutelage of Tanaka. Harmon has recently accepted a position as director of grounds maintenance at the Portland garden.

Monks brought Buddhism, tea and this style of garden back from China during the Heian period more than 1,200 years ago, Harmon said. The Japanese garden evolved as a sacred space within the boundaries of the temple.

The garden contains separate sections that transition easily into each other and is intended to be appreciated as a whole experience.

"The secret of viewing a Japanese garden is either you get it in six seconds or you don't," Harmon said. "You find peace and tranquillity at once instead of worrying it out."

But symbolism is laced within each space.

Raked gardens in a

karensansui,

"The three most important elements in a Japanese garden are stone, water and plants," said Durston. "The placement of stones along a path depends on the level of formality of the particular garden, with some gardens featuring straight-cut formal paths and others with naturally shaped stones placed in less formal manner."

The passage is designed to control the pace at which a visitor might view the garden. The broad open path allows a visitor to move at a more rapid pace.

"When you reach the steppingstones, you slow so that you have sure footing," Harmon said.

"When you approach a large stone, that is placed where you stop and look around and take in the environment," Harmon said. "The stone indicates that there is something here to see, to enjoy the garden from that vantage point. The pathway will typically take you past vistas that were first hidden and then revealed. That's something we call the 'beckoning path.'"

Large stones in a garden sometimes represent islands or mountains in a raked-sand style, said Durston. In some designs, the stones may simply be part of an abstract work of art.

"In some of the more natural styles of Japanese garden, they can be representative of natural outcroppings of rocks in a wooded setting," Durston said.

The large steppingstones in this garden lead to an antique

kasuga toro

"Stone lanterns were originally used to light Buddhist temples or Shinto shrines, appropriated in later centuries by the originators of the tea ceremony and the gardens associated with it," Durston said.

The water basins and surrounding stones are called

tsukubai.

"These are also associated with the tea ceremony, in which a ritual of washing the hands and rinsing the mouth is symbolic of cleansing the mind of the 'dust' of life before entering the tea rooms," said Durston. "Both stone lanterns and water basins have become ubiquitous symbols in many traditional Japanese-style gardens today, though the essential elements remain simply stone, water and plant materials and the way they are used within the space."

Flowering plants are used sparingly.

"Japanese gardens are noted for the prominent use of evergreen materials and the importance placed on reflections of the four seasons," said Durston. "Some styles of Japanese gardens do use flowers, particularly those that highlight the season, such as cherry trees and wisteria. Gardens for the tea ceremony do not use flowers because they are thought to distract the attention of guests, who are intended to focus solely on the experience of the moment together."

Treatment of space is one of the most important aspects of a Japanese garden.

"It's not so much how many elements the garden has--does it have a pine tree or a maple or a lantern? The important thing is how this space integrates in the surrounding landscape, and can you incorporate borrowed scenery. The tree that stands over your neighbor's fence is as important to the garden as the pebbles at your feet."

The philosophy of a Japanese garden contrasts with that of a garden in the Western Hemisphere.

"Japanese gardens seek to express harmony between man and nature, rather than expressing man's dominance over nature," said Durston.

That's why Japanese gardens strive for asymmetry instead of rigid symmetry.

"Japanese gardens are also designed with abundant evergreen material in order to be beautiful in every season, unlike some Western gardens that tend to focus more on the growing seasons," said Durston.

Although Japanese gardens are steeped in symbolism, designer Tanaka said the meaning is secondary in creating a garden.

"The designer's intentions are not nearly as important as the response of the viewer," he said. "Designers can say whatever they want about the concept behind their designs--it's the viewer whose response determines its success or failure."