Tea and dry landscape Garden
TEA AND DRY LANDSCAPE GARDEN Nathan Wilbur
In 1988, this 18-by-70-foot space behind our house did not contain a single tree, planting, or stone—just an overgrown carpet of weeds and a large stump.
Here is the garden as it looks today, with plants, trees, walks, and structures. The outer garden includes a dry landscape of rocks and granite gravel.
June light floods the climbing ivy on the middle gate, and filters through the bamboo. The paper birch at right has grown to more than 50 feet high.
A small platform large enough for two is a fine place to sit and study the rock composition.
A close-up view reveals the motion of the rocks in the dappled light.
Walks built with water-struck brick harmonize beautifully with structures. The outer walk takes you to the middle gate, and this view of the inner garden and teahouse.
A copper-lined fountain stands in the center. Using the bamboo dipper, guests sip fresh water and pour it on their hands to wash away the dust of the world.
In this view, the teahouse shutters are open, while the paper-covered sliding shoji are closed. The smooth, salmon-colored rocks in front of the teahouse come from Nova Scotia.
Two rocks—one black, the other striated—form a tiny dry waterfall below the shutters. With the teahouse shoji screens opened, we can glimpse the interior.
As we draw near, we see the light falling on the tatami mats. The sun is pouring through a small window (above left).
The sun lances through the window into the inner alcove (tokonoma) of the teahouse…
…and reflects onto the alcove wall and tea utensils arranged on the mats.
Before we move on from this June day, let’s take a final look at the outer garden and middle gate. This is a perfect place to sit outside and watch the day end.
This view takes us to a day in late November. The leaves of a Japanese maple (planted next to a fence at right) suddenly burst into flame.
They hover over the fountain…
…and fall in drifts to color the plants and walks an unearthly red. The statue of a bodhisattva echoes the grey granite of the planting beds.
We end our tour in winter, when the stone and wooden structures frame the garden’s inner and outer spaces.
In 1988, this 18-by-70-foot space behind our house did not contain a single tree, planting, or stone—just an overgrown carpet of weeds and a large stump.
Here is the garden as it looks today, with plants, trees, walks, and structures. The outer garden includes a dry landscape of rocks and granite gravel.
June light floods the climbing ivy on the middle gate, and filters through the bamboo. The paper birch at right has grown to more than 50 feet high.
A small platform large enough for two is a fine place to sit and study the rock composition.
A close-up view reveals the motion of the rocks in the dappled light.
Walks built with water-struck brick harmonize beautifully with structures. The outer walk takes you to the middle gate, and this view of the inner garden and teahouse.
A copper-lined fountain stands in the center. Using the bamboo dipper, guests sip fresh water and pour it on their hands to wash away the dust of the world.
In this view, the teahouse shutters are open, while the paper-covered sliding shoji are closed. The smooth, salmon-colored rocks in front of the teahouse come from Nova Scotia.
Two rocks—one black, the other striated—form a tiny dry waterfall below the shutters. With the teahouse shoji screens opened, we can glimpse the interior.
As we draw near, we see the light falling on the tatami mats. The sun is pouring through a small window (above left).
The sun lances through the window into the inner alcove (tokonoma) of the teahouse…
…and reflects onto the alcove wall and tea utensils arranged on the mats.
Before we move on from this June day, let’s take a final look at the outer garden and middle gate. This is a perfect place to sit outside and watch the day end.
This view takes us to a day in late November. The leaves of a Japanese maple (planted next to a fence at right) suddenly burst into flame.
They hover over the fountain…
…and fall in drifts to color the plants and walks an unearthly red. The statue of a bodhisattva echoes the grey granite of the planting beds.
We end our tour in winter, when the stone and wooden structures frame the garden’s inner and outer spaces.
