Starting April 2017, we began offering First Free Thursdays as a pilot program with the belief that every citizen of Seattle deserved equitable garden access. Over the course of the year, over 3,000 visitors who may not have otherwise been able to entered the gates free of charge...
Read MoreNandina domestica, usually called “heavenly bamboo” or “sacred bamboo,” is a fine-textured evergreen shrub, not a true bamboo. In Japan, it’s associated with good fortune, and often planted near residential doorways.
Read MoreWestern red cedar (Thuja plicata) is an important Pacific NW native tree with many traditional uses & meanings. As such, it’s our region’s counterpart to Japan’s iconic Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica).
Read MoreOver 10,000 visitors made it to the Seattle Japanese Garden for the 10-day Maple Viewing Festival this year. The garden added extra shade of colors each day during the festival as it began to prepare for winter. Arts and Crafts activities held throughout the festival were enjoyed by visitors from around the world!
Read MoreJapanese maples are truly a four-season plant… And, perhaps most notable, the brilliant display of fall. The beauty of each season is in its impermanence, the daily change and inevitable shift into the next phase.
Read MoreIn Japanese-style gardens, foreground shrubs are often pruned into the semi-spherical shape known as tamamono. Repeated, this simple form contributes mass and stability to the garden, and a sense of peacefulness & tranquility as we encounter it
Read MoreIn combination with moss, NW native ferns are an important groundcover in the mountain and woodland areas of the Seattle Japanese Garden.
Read MoreHave you ever wondered if any of the shrubs in the Seattle Japanese Garden are native to our area? Here’s a look at some iconic Pacific Northwest native shrubs. They’re planted at the south end of our garden – in the teahouse, mountain and woodland areas.
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