Japanese Zen

Another beautiful Minnesota day!  Although the morning started out as a paltry 36 degF, I still chose to wear shorts to acknowledge the growth of summer temperatures and the day’s predicted abundant amount of sunshine. I discovered over the morning that this was a wise decision. 

Japanese Lantern

I spoke with a visitor about the beautiful pink Rhododendrons found in the Japanese Garden. Around this garden, the small pockets of color add an artistic touch to the natural look and serenity of this garden.  Many people don’t realize that these types of gardens are carefully and purposefully designed to have a “natural” look with specific accents to draw the eyes of the visitor.  Very Zen on many levels!

Japanese Garden

 Today, when I arrived in the Japanese garden, one of the first things I noticed is that they now have the pond filled with water but there appears to be a little bit of scum floating on the top of the water.  This appears more obvious to the eye because of the black organic dye added to the water – an addition to make the water look more beautiful and reflective of the garden’s sereneness.

The Bonsai (pronounced bone-sigh) room marks the entrance to the Japanese Garden.  I often stand in here to greet visitors and answer questions about the bonsai collection. I will be posting some pictures periodically of the beautiful bonsai trees that are on exhibit here.

Bonsai

Of note in the North Garden today is the pollinator experiment being conducted with the cacao tree.  The staff have posted a couple of bags of banana peels to attract mites who will act as cacao flower pollinators.  I’ll keep an eye on this tree to see how successful they are over the next few months!

Cacao Tree Pollinator Experiment