Extend your garden journey by browsing original articles on a variety of related topics.
For many years, Japanese have admired the moon. During the Heian Period (794 - 1185), moon viewing events were hosted among the aristocracy. The Heian aristocracy, floating on a boat on a pond in their garden and drinking sake, appreciated the moon not only in the sky but also on the surface of the pond and the surface of their drinking cups.
Read MoreThank you so much for joining us for Garden Party 2021! This long-delayed event was the culmination of our 60th kanreki anniversary celebration. It was truly a beautiful evening despite being held on one of the hottest days of the year!
Read MoreWhen spring’s vibrant flowering has come to an end, visitors to the Seattle Japanese Garden experience the subtle beauty of its many shades of green. Now the shrub dogwood Cornus alba ‘Argenteo-marginata’ draws our attention. Its gray-green leaves edged in white are a luminous presence—as is the winter brilliance of its fiery red stems.
Read MoreThe latest update on safety procedures regarding Covid-19 in the Seattle Japanese Garden.
Read MoreBigleaf hydrangeas, native to and long cultivated in Japan, are one of the loveliest and most beloved of summer-blooming shrubs. Three plants now grace the Seattle Japanese Garden—a relatively new cultivar, Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Dancing Snow.’ It’s also known by the trademark name Double Delights™ Wedding Gown.
Read MoreCulturally and aesthetically significant, conifers are an integral part of the Japanese Garden. They bring a feeling of age and stability and help define areas in the garden that refer to natural landscapes of Japan, such as open woodlands, forested mountains, wooded hills and islands, and wind-swept shores.
Juki Iida included existing native conifers in his landscaping. Some remain, and he selections of conifers since the garden’s first decade have been inspired by Juki’s Iida’s design and vision for the Japanese Garden.
Read MoreThis is the first in a series of three articles about the Garden’s plant collections, and how they’ve changed over time. Here I discuss the genus Rhododendron, which includes both “true” rhododendrons and azaleas. Future articles will feature the Garden’s conifers (Part Two) and maples (Part Three).
Read MorePolygonatum odoratum var. pluriflorum is a lovely spring-blooming perennial. Its delicate white flowers, tipped in green, are gracefully suspended from long arching stems. In the Seattle Japanese Garden’s records, it’s listed by an older name, Polygonatum japonicum.
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