Wednesday, December 7, 2016

The garden is closed for winter

SJG • 12/6/16 - Camellia Sasanqua 'Appledorn' in area S - flowers white in late fall and winter

by aleks
On December 1st, the first day of our winter closure, Rumi, Jessa and Pete hosted a special celebration for volunteers and staff of the Seattle Japanese Garden. Thank you all who organized this very nice get together where the guides could formally meet our new Niwashi volunteers - the garden stewards who help to maintain this beautiful space.  In the coming 2017 season we hope for a greater integrations of the two groups - some docents are already in the Niwashi program, and some Niwashi volunteers are planning to become docents.

SJG • 12/6/16 - Ripe persimon fruit on now leafless tree in orchard - note the frost on the ground

On December 6th the continuing education group met to finalize the details of the 2017 lectures, books to read, field trips and film offerings - watch this space for a list of all of the educational opportunities as soon as it gets formalized (a few speakers and dates are still negotiated) and the Calendar will also be posted on the right side of the blog, for your GO-to viewing throughout  the year.

SJG • 12/6/16 - Camellia sasanqua in N - flowers right on time: late fall

The film non-committee finished its business earlier that expected (most of the discussion was conducted via earlier emails); so  had time for a stroll around the garden and found unexpected abundance of color in winter - see posted pics. Small film appetizer:  the first movie of 2017 - Throne of Blood (蜘蛛巣城 Kumonosu-jō? - will be shown on the day of 'soft opening' of the Garden, March 1st (the official First Viewing ceremony will be hold on the following weekend) - mark your calendar now!

SJG • 12/6/16 - The film non-committee observed 'something wrong with this picture': Camellia japonica in N is blooming, too.  Dewey: 'isn't that a bit early?!' Yes, it is - normal time for c. japonica bloom is early spring.  


The garden might be closed, but some things continue to turn in its own rhythm -  I'll post soon about the two of them that I'm personally involved with:

• 1.) cooperation with Kubota garden and  related visit to UW Center for Urban Horticulture herbarium and

• 2.) MOSS container display garden which is being currently constructed;  the moss garden will have its own separate blog, which Miriam the Gardener already started but it needs some further organizing. There are about 10 000 mosses species in the world - the container moss garden and the moss blog will feature about 10 most prevalent in our Seattle Japanese garden.

12/2/16 - Dicranum scoparium - this particular moss does NOT grow in our garden (but related Dicranum howelii is) - it was chosen for a trial potting, while looking for the right container and soil mix for the display moss garden

SJG • 12/6/12 - bare bones of the SJ winter Garden