That is called the fast pace and they have forgotten how to stroll. I find when I go with others they are always rushing me. I hate to race through the garden and they seem to think you need too in order to get to the next faze of your day. We Americans have forgotten how to relax and enjoy the small pleasures in life. Kind of like stopping to smell the roses. Those of us who enjoy the gardens remember how to enjoy life and relax, the others are merely walking through life missing the point of living.

Thats my opinion and I feel sad for what so many are missing.

Cheers Jando

My kids were rushing me too. Fortunately, I had the keys to the car!
I honestly considered asking some why the rush? But then, in this world where we don't always speak to strangers, I didn't.
I was enjoying sitting in one place observing the placement of stones under a bridge - so much thought in position and design - enjoyed a hundred times before touching a rock.
Dave

The fastest I ever saw people rushing through a garden was when some busloads of Japanese tourists were visiting the Buchart 'Japanese' garden near Victoria.

Maybe they were even less impressed with it than I was, because they moved even faster than I did.

Next time you the kids to a Japanese garden, maybe you should play this to them in the car on the way there -
Click here

I went to the Japanese Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden last month. I went alone and spent all afternoon in it. My knees were killing me or I would have spent even longer.

It is such a beautiful garden it makes me want to go to Japan and tour gardens there.

Herb,
Actually, my kid had his kid with him and in reality, she was enjoying it as much as I was. Something takes over around age thirty something - you need to hurry, hurry, hurry. Then you regain your senses about sixty and at sixty-five begin to enjoy life again. My grand daughter, at 18 months was happy to regard the rocks, content with sitting in a puddle!

I didn't know Buchart Gardens was a kind of JGarden. I haven't been there for fifteen years.
Dave

Dave,

It's even better in your seventies......

Sorry if I've misled anybody - The 'Japanese' garden is only part of the Buchart Gardens. And even though I don't like the way the Japanese part is laid out, it is beautifully maintained.

Dave,

This reminds me of a very funny satire by humorist Art Buchwald, about an American tourist that tried to win the "six minutes Louvre race" in Paris.
It's worth reading it.

Liviu.

The assumption that all things must have a purpose, including life, can have people running around in ever decreasing circles. Perhaps life has no meaning, perhaps a Japanese garden doesn't either. Would it be easier to accept being where we are if we realised that the gift shop at Butchart sells the same stuff as the one at PDX?

I think that humans, on the whole, have an impulse to surround themselves with things that they find pleasant to look at & to arrange them in ways that give them a feeling of satisfaction, or of pleasure, or of being relaxed - or whatever.

I'd say that Japanese gardens are a particularly refined and sophisticated way of satisfying that impulse.

I have to admit, after more than 3 years at my garden, I am still amazed and astounded when I see people walk through the Japanese Garden, as well as the other gardens, with their heads down, talking on the cell phone to their business colleagues and friends. I bet they go home and tell everyone (or call them on their cell phones) and say "oh, I visited the --- garden. It was beautiful!" How do they know???? I'm sure they appreciated the raked gravel path they walked on..... At least they are watching where they are walking, not like the people who trample my groundcovers!

For the vast bulk of people exposed to gardens, most are not seeing much. Even here in Japan, people don't seem to give much regard to viewing gardens. Most times that I go to an "official garden" in my area the place is nearly empty (except for some older folks). The same is true when I climb in the mountains and that I try to do weekly! In a way it is nice since I am assured these places are quiet refuges in the urban world in which I live.

The real truth is that few are paying attention to anything really. We live in a world of sound bites, click on the icon, run to Starbucks on the way to the meeting, etc. So people have lost their natural capacity to pay attention to anything, let alone something as unassuming as garden. We're too busy to really be aware we're even alive.

What's the purpose of any garden? To bring joy and satisfaction into the heart of a gardener, whether it be his personal garden or not. Monday I am moving from an apartment with a small balcony (now jammed full of plants) to a small house with a nice little garden on the edge of the mountains. No doubt I will breath a sigh of relief (as will my plants!). One of the first things I'll do is get out and work in the garden.

BTW I am 42 years old so the age argument is only partially true. You can pay attention at any age, it just takes discipline and desire! PF

Plantfreak -

I enjoyed your posting, especially this part -

"The real truth is that few are paying attention to anything really. We live in a world of sound bites, click on the icon, run to Starbucks on the way to the meeting, etc. So people have lost their natural capacity to pay attention to anything, let alone something as unassuming as garden. We're too busy to really be aware we're even alive."

Well said! And how absolutely true.

Plantfreak,

Discipline!?
I'm almost sure that that's insensitive to those who have some disorder or other.
Congratulations on your move, it is exciting to be nearer to some deep dirt. The plants will love it.
OOOPS! I have to run and microwave dinner, reconstitute some rice, and watch a twenty minute recap of the olympics up 'til now.

Dave

Isn't there an idea somewhere in Buddhism to the effect that, if one were able to sit quietly and become fully and simultaneously aware of every aspect of oneself and one's environment, that that awareness would itself be enlightenment?

Even if Buddhism encompasses no such idea, it wouldn't be a bad thing to try in a Japanese garden.
(Much more so than in, say, the loading dock of a petrochemical plant -- maybe that's the purpose of the garden :)

- Evelyn

I guess I should content myself that people are coming to "my" garden. And you are right, plantfreak, that I think of it as my garden, even though I don't own it, nor do I make any of the major decisions about it. But 5 mornings a week, I walk across the bridge into my (temporarily) peaceful space and feel immense satisfaction at the things I have achieved in my humble way.

Congratulations on moving to your new garden space. I recall the feeling, just 2 short years ago, of looking out my new kitchen window overlooking a wide open canvas that was all mine, ready to be "painted". Even after a long, hot, tiring day of working for a living in a garden, I still go straight to the garden behind my house when I get home, even before I unlock the front door. How lucky I am to have a job that is so much fun!

"To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment."
- Jane Austen, in "Mansfield Park"
(who knew she understood so much about Japanese gardens? :)

- Evelyn

And isn't it funny that most people who garden professionally come home and can't wait to work in their own garden. Most people come home and work in the garden to forget about what they did at work all day.

Cheers Jando

Well, yes and no, Jando.

Many people come home from a long bothersome day at Widgetcorp and say something like:

"Boy, howdy, I am sick and tired of widgets. Don't even talk to me about widgets. If I never see another widget it will be too soon." [Partner in conversation, who works for Thingamabob Inc., says roughly the same about thingamabobs, then the conversational thread returns to the first speaker.] "Hey, did I tell what's going on with the roll-out of our Improved Superwidget? We're still stuck using that sub-par gonculator, but we finally got approval today to add the tailfins..."

Most people talk about their work, partly to have something to talk about, but probably also because commenting on something gives one at least a cursory sense of control. Not having worked in a public garden, I wonder if working in one's own at the end of the day gives one a similar feeling of control: no visitors to be polite to, no donors with more money than sense, no Grande-Fromage-du-Jardin who couldn't prune the dried fruit of a plum tree...

Then again, those in the widget-&-thingamabob business also gain a sense of control, and freedom from the same sorts of stressors, while working in their gardens :)

- Evelyn

I find that at many places where I believe one should slow down and take in the beauty around them. Hiking up around Mt Rainier I see far to many people rushing to reach their "goal" how far can they hike etc. It is quite sad that they don't stop and take in the views that are not just of the Mt, but mother natures landscaping around it.

Kendal

Happens to me in the woods mostly, my partner and friends rushing ahead, and me trying to slow them down to see the wildflower they almost stepped on or the fauna they overlooked. It seems we are all of a mind here; have we found the common thread to J-gardeners?

Evelyn you are most correct. In fact the key tenet to Zen is to reach enlightenment through zazen ("sitting") until you reach "the still point" (I believe that was Dogen that used that phrase). We can't sit in this country, let alone find the still point...

Scott

Scott, thank you so much for resurrecting this thread after a month's time. You used the right words, and the light bulb just came on for me! I believe it is in human nature to continually think beyond where we are. Some do it in a grander, or more pressured way than others. I have a sudden realization that the reason I'm a poor listener is because I hear a little bit, and my mind takes off expanding on that part instead of being still and hearing the rest. I'm aching to answer, or to argue long before the other person is done expressing themself. You just gave me the concept of being aware, of understanding, without the mind scrambling to conceptualize, to connect to other ideas, to progress. Got the concept, now gotta put it into action ... or not... :)

Susan

IÂve noticed it also, family, friends, acquaintances come to my garden and say "how beautiful it is", but they never see the painstakingly plantings of Ophiopogon planiscapus Ânigrescens beneath the Zantedeschia aethiopica, or the beauty of the A.p.ÂUkigumoÂ, the vein texture of the A.p.ÂShigitatsu sawaÂ, the tiny leaves of the Azara Micophylla. The stone placed right where I wanted it, or the hypertufa lantern that took me two weeks to make and countless months to perfect a recipe of just the right amounts of peat, sand, perlite, p. cement, only to have it turn out to look like Fred Flintstone should be living in it, when they think you boarded your Lear jet to cross the Pacific and steal it from some sacred temple, smuggle it in your underwear and haphazardly place it in your back yardÂ

But the joy is there!! And I love them all.

Whew!!

IÂll stop for now.

Thank you.

Perhaps the question should first focus on the process and not the result. For me, gardening allows me to participate in the process of creation...specifically, the ongoing creation that continuously renews the natural world as well as those who take the time to notice. The subtle change in the angle of incident light as autumn approaches, the appearance of next year's flower buds alongside this year's fruit on a Dogwood, the almost imperceptible increase in root flare of a specimen tree...these are unnoticed by most and likely not appreciated by most even after it is pointed out to them.
Is it more worthwhile to garden in the 'Japanese' style, or does that sentiment imply a sense of superiority of one's sense of aesthetics? Can the gardener who specializes in the traditional English garden, or even the homeowner who takes pride in his/her vegetable garden, realize as much satisfaction, or take as much pride in, or feel as connected with the natural world as does the 'Japanese gardener'. I would submit the answer in many cases must be yes.
On the other hand, characteristics that a casual observer would interpret as a 'Japanese garden', such as asymmetry, subtle use of color, water and stones and the appearance that all this happened without the hand of man (or woman!) would more easily evoke the sense that the garden is a place in which to celebrate nature. The real afficianado/professional can chime in on the cultural traditions, religious metaphors and subtly profound wabi-sabi stuff and then half fill cyberspace discussing it. ;-)
Which brings me to another point discussed on an adjacent thread. ;-) Does the Tradition suffer by the use of non-traditional techniques and tools? I think the answer must be...not necessarily! ;-) Does the Tradition suffer from this most non-traditional form of electronic communication and research? If you are reading this your answer must be 'no'. More efficient tools, whether it be the internet, a better pond filter or some power tool, enable the gardener/artist/homeowner to do more then one could otherwise. It remains up to the practicioner to see that the end result is acceptable.
There are many similarities to bonsai design and development. Some are more stylized representations of the ideal tree, some are styled in a more naturalistic form. Some may have their deadwood carved with simple hand tools, some using a power die-grinder. The top bonsai artists in Japan currently have designed their own power tools as the art progresses.

John

I loved the garden that my husband and I made around our first home. We had it for 16 years and our children played in it. I missed it when we moved. When I started reading about Japanese gardens a few weeks ago, I was amazed to find out that the side garden, the part that I enjoyed the most was Japanese. We had slate/shale path, rock edges, liquid amber, aucuba, star magnolia, japonica, abelia, azaleas, aralia, daphne etc. etc. It celebrated all the seasons and was shady and cool and gave something to look at out the window.

Sorry but I didnt know that most JGardens were in there 60/70's Heck Im only 13!

My husband and I both enjoy gardening and our dream trip would be to visit the gardens in Japan, we are both 27 years old! We have had our first house for four years now and have planted our first japanese garden there. This past year we built a koi pond. It is really beautiful. I can stare at it for hours. Every morning before work I feed the koi and am just amazed with them. Our whole house if full of plants. We grow everything we can get our hands on. I just can't imagine not having time to enjoy them. Plants just amaze us. Many of our friends don't even have a plant in their house, not even ONE! I can't imagine that.
I think that gardeners come in every age. It is hard to make time at our age though, but it is important to us. Sure some plants do get neglected. Gardens are a place to just marvel at everything..and to notice things that you haven't noticed before. Things are always much more clear and easy to understand when you are relaxing and enjoying your garden. The cycle of life is so much more noticeable and influencing. problems seem so insignificant all of a sudden.
So I guess that is what our gardens are for. :)
-renee

I am lucky enough to work with some of the city natural areas in the San Antonio area. Although we do not have a large Japanese garden in San Antonio, citizens, including many Japan Americans, make use of the natural areas to get important exercise at the same time they are refreshing their souls. While they do speed through these hill country preserves, I think it a different type of "rushing" than that you are refering to. Cell phones don't work well out here ..... hum.

On a side note, I find good green tea to be a special kind of stimulant. It makes me awake and aware, rather than awake and in a hurry. Instead of speeding me through the task/hour/day or whatever, I start to notice all the leaves, stones, and life that are sharing the space, light, water and air with me.

Drivers used to speed where I lived last year. The mobiles didn't work there either. There were wattles (mimosa?) right up in the canopy in flower and wildflowers on the banks.

I felt the same way years ago when we stopped at my old schoolhouse that wasn't used at the time. It was on the way to a waterfall that the tourists go to. They were staring straight ahead and driving fast and I was dissappointed. We always marvel when we go to a place like that. It is testing me this year as I drive home from ballet (we live in a remote area) 1 1/2 hours and can't really take my eyes off the road because of the log trucks etc. and steep cliffs. We have a view of the tallest mountain in Australia with snow on it and wildflowers and kangaroos, deer, wallabies. We see kangaroos every week and I point them out to my daughter, but always scared of the driver coming up the mountain behind me. I guess glimpses are OK.

This is an old thread that I just stumbled upon, and I just wanted to address the original question. Japanese gardens evolved into the "traditional" form for a number of reasons too complicated to discuss here (influences from China, buddhist theory, etc.), but the most famous of the gardens that survive today are associated with monastic communities and were originally organized with their elements symbolic of natural elements not necessarily present in the garden itself (ie- carefully ordered pebbles sometimes are symbolic of water, etc.). Each garden is unique, and because of their age I think that there is no definitive record of the "why" of the design- but it's generally accepted that they served as a focal point for meditation and/or as courtly "entertainment". There is a copious amount of written commentary on many of the gardens for anyone interested.

I spent some time in Japan and have observed some speedy "appreciation" of the gardens there as well, by tourists and locals alike. And there is nothing like making an attempt to understand the meditational quality of a 400 year old garden while a loudspeaker blares commentary at you. I'll also add that I haven't seen the japanese gardens in BC- while I imagine that they are quite beautiful, there's something about a garden that's been meticulously cultivated for centuries that can't be compared to a garden that "recreates" the look and feel without the time element. Most of the originals are (mostly) worth the travel- but you don't even have to find the famous ones, any of the smaller ones that have been treated with care can be equally fabulous (and often quieter and more condusive to their original purpose).

passiflorakae, I'm sure that there is many form of beauty, magic in gardens, in art, in music, not only the time element.You just have to see and value them.

And there it is...we have started down the road of Jgarden when it is simply gardens we need to ask about. Kobold has boiled it down to the pure form very nicely and I agree that the constraint of time has little to do with the value of a garden. What is the reason for gardening? It must be ubiquitous; there is a gardening tradition everywhere that can support one (poor Inuit) so there is obviously an intrinsic need to garden in the collective human psyche. Is it the connection to the earth? Is it the communing with naure? Pure aestheticism? Or does it simply scratch some nameless itch, some connectivity to the world around us that makes us feel we are not just giving back but revering this power nature has put in our hands? I like to think of it in terms of a song I like that says "Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world". We are simply the way the ethos looks at itself and when it sees a garden, it likes what it sees...

Happy Spring, my friends...

Go get dirty...

Scott

My family often wonders why I spend 5x longer to visit a garden, any garden, then what they consider to be reasonable. So, I go alone when I really want to have a "good" garden visit.

It's to do with differences interest and priorities. When we visit a foreign land, different members of the party has diverse interests - like shopping! Whereas one of my main interest is the local vegetation, gardens, etc. People don't understand why I have to spend so much time studying a plant, surveying a garden scene, admiring garden designs and absorbing the ambience of a well laid out and maintained garden. To me, not taking in the details is missing the whole point of the visit altogether.

What's the purpose of any garden? It's a place to relax, calm down, be soothed, and be at peace. It's anything you want it to be. But one thing it's not is a thoroughfare. It's a place for "being", not to "have been".