The Japanese Garden at Hermann Park

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I had always been intrigued by the Japanese Garden at Hermann Park, but for one reason or another (usually it’s because by the time I got to the park it was closed! It closes at 6 pm in summer and at 6 pm it is usually still too hot for me to venture out too much) I never got around to actually going! This changed last week, when I got out of the museum at 5:30pm, and found the Japanese garden still open. This is the entrance to the garden:

This is an explanation in English of how and why the garden was created:

So interesting that it was in 1990 and during a G-8 Economic Summit that the Prime Minister of Japan donated the garden. Apparently he also did the Japanese calligraphy on the first rock. I loved the entrance, this is what you see as you enter:

As I walked in I felt a sense of peace, and I wondered at that. I like the Japanese aesthetic of what I think of as calmness, this fusion of nature and water and soothing colors:

I especially loved the bridges:

The garden is a LOT bigger than I thought, and 30 minutes wasn’t enough to see all of it! I definitely have to go back with more time. This was one of the most beautiful parts, though this picture hardly does it justice:

Here are two other shots:

I wondered about the pink trees, they reminded me of the pink and white cherry blossoms that bloom every year in Washington, D.C., but I thought it unlikely that they would be blooming now, in the heat and humidity of Houston. But the shade was such a delicate pink it mimicked brilliantly the delicate nature of the cherry blossoms. I finally decided it was an exceedingly clever use of crape myrtles! If you look closely below you might be able to see two turtles sunning themselves:

At first I thought these two birds were scultpures, they were so still! But no, they were real, lol:

This is also where I saw the bunny, in fact I saw three! but got only close enough to capture this one in a photo:

I fell in love with the Japanese garden, and I definitely plan to be back! I could see myself resting there, enjoying nature, or even reading or grading in peace. And peaceful places are in very short supply nowadays!

• 27 Jun, 2010
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