History

2021 Winter Pond Renovation

During winter closure 2021, the south pond has been drained for renovation and repair.  The north end of the pond was completed in the winter of 2019.  

(Click on any photo to see it larger, then arrow left and right through all photos)

South Pond Cleanout

The koi were lured to the north pond and a cofferdam built on the north side of the central bridges.

The south pond was drained and the pumper truck crew began the removal of 1-3 feet of accumulated mud and silt from the south pond bottom.

A large vacuum hose ran from the work crew to the truck outside the East Gate.

At the end of 1/27, progress had been slow due to deep mud and many stones plugging the suction line.

At the end of 1/29, the crew had worked to the edge of the water lilies in the center of the pond.

At the end of 2/3, they had reached the west side of the pond.

And by 2/5, they had outlined one group of water lilies and nearly reached the next group, working toward the sound end of the pond.

Then, over the weekend of 2/6-7, leaks from the cofferdam, the draining pumps turned off for the weekend and the weather conspired to partially refill the pond and prevent Monday work to continue muck removal.  With frost and possible snow pending in the next few days, the project may have to be put temporarily on hold.  Everyone is watching the weather closely.

From 2/9 to 2/11 the removal of pond muck was been completed.

Rocky Peninsula and Shorelines Repair 

Meanwhile, the rocky peninsula was cleared and the stones sorted according to size.  At the same time the large stones on the east shore were removed for bank repair.

After a protective liner was placed to prevent future weed growth, each of the peninsula stones was replaced by hand, one at a time, layer upon layer.

By 2/11 repair of the rocky peninsula proceeds.

And shorelines are being repaired and restored.

By 2/19 repair of the rocky peninsula & shoreline continues.

Path Repair

While all of the pond work was in progress, the garden crew repaired the west shore planting areas and remarked the footpath edges.

The Winter 2021 work is not complete.  Stay tuned for more updates . . .

Photos & Story by Peggy Garber 2/21/2021

2012 Prior Histories

SJG celebrated 50th anniversary in 2012.  Hello, fellow guides:  would you like to write a brief history?

For now:
•  a link to PDF article by Koichi Kobayashi
• Seattle Japanese Garden digital archive - by Koichi Kobayashi (added 9/12/14)
• Study of Landscape Space and Design Elements at Seattle Japanese Garden (download) - by Koichi Kobayashi (added 9/12/14)
•  Wikipedia article on SJG
• short note about Juki Iida
• and 2:22 minutes video about Seattle Japanese Garden (half way down the list of clips) from Anderson Japanese Gardens  - there is a short historical note embedded on the side (scroll down to read it)
• SJG history at Urasenke website (please note link to the history of the Tea House at the bottom of the page)

•  'Dream window: Reflections on the Japanese Garden' - 1992 Smithsonian documentary -exquisite exploration of landscape with Toru Takemitsu's music, filmed in gardens of Japan - your options of watching below:

           -  2 minutes preview on Smithsonian channel:
http://www.smithsonianchannel.com/sc/web/show/131418/dream-window-reflections-on-the-japanese-garden

        - full length (57 minutes, no ads) on OVGuide (a website aggregator which allows users to find online video content) - click on 'Dream Window' - the last of the six presented on this page;
http://www.ovguide.com/tv_episode/smithsonian-channel-documentaries-season-1992-episode-1-dream-window-reflections-on-the-japanese-garden-3488421

       - or youtube channel (in 3 installments, with ads at the beginning) - part 1 here, follow there for the next parts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgPJ2Uk6_nI&index=1&list=PL681A63506D1D0542

       -or rent it from Scarecrow (independent videostore in U-District) for a small fee:
https://www.scarecrow.com/45/search.html?keywords=dream+window