Moongate Garden (Enid A. Haupt Garden)

Last weekend I had an opportunity to accompany my wife Catherine on a visit to Washington, DC. She was attending a conference and I wanted to use the opportunity to surprise her with a renewed marriage proposal and engagement ring in honor of our 25th wedding anniversary.

Given that we had met and fell in love in China, I wanted to perform the surprise proposal in a place that appropriately reflected the start of our relationship. Initially I thought I would pop-the-question at the United States Botanic Garden. After all, we love visiting gardens. However, it had occurred to me that there was a small secluded garden adjacent to the Freer and Sackler Galleries, one of our favorite Asian art museums (part of the Smithsonian).

It had been some time since I last visited the museum and had, in fact, forgotten the significance of the garden. As I investigated the location as the possible proposal site, I quickly realized how the garden was the perfect location for my plans.

Website: http://gardens.si.edu/our-gardens/haupt-garden.html

The garden is known as the Moongate Garden and it was designed by architect Jean Paul Carlhian. The design was inspired by the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China.  

Catherine and I at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, 2011

The geometrical axial layout is centered around the cardinal points of a compass. There is granite and water throughout the garden, reflecting two of the of the Five Elements. 

Pink granite blocks are placed in the corners of the garden. Two as standing gates, and two that lay down and act as benches. 

It truly is a place of quiet contemplation, and for my purpose, seclusion. 

I also recognized the symbolic significance of this location for my plans - the circular spot at the center is similar to the Yuan Qiu (Circular Alter) located at the Temple of Heaven complex in Beijing. Yuan Qiu is essentially a square (representing Earth) with a three-tiered circular platform in which the Heaven's Heart Stone is located at the center. It literally marks the place where Heaven and Earth intersect. 

Catherine and I standing upon Heaven's Heart Stone in Beijing, 2011

The Moongate Garden reflects these same features in its design.

What better place, then, to express my continued devotion to our love than the place where Heaven and Earth meet? 

After much secretive planning, Catherine and I headed off to visit the Freer and Sackler Galleries, or so she thought. It was a beautiful day, the sky clearer and bluer than I can ever remember. It was, no doubt, a blessing from Heaven. We arrived early and no one was nearby, except a lone security guard. Although he initially rejected my request to take a photograph ("Its against policy..."), he very quickly changed his mind ("...but today I am going to ignore that policy"). Another blessing from Heaven. I handed him the phone/camera and joined Catherine who was standing upon the center stone.

Finding the words to convey the moment is beyond my abilities. I therefore offer the picture below as as a testament of my devotion to the women who has made me the happiest man in the world. 

Our love knows no bounds and transcends both Heaven and Earth, and I can think of no greater place in which to demonstrate that love than the Moongate Garden.

Yushien Garden (Amherst College)

I had a chance to visit the Yushien Garden ("Garden of Friendship") at Amherst College this weekend. 

The garden opened in 2002 and has since been listed in The Journal of Japanese Gardening as one of the top Japanese gardens in the United States. The garden was designed by Shin Abe as a contemplative garden. Located between Kirby Theatre and Webster Hall, the garden celebrates stong historical ties between Amherst College and Doshisha University in Japan. 

When I first entered campus on my way to the garden, I almost passed it by. When walking along the road towards the entrance in Webster Hall, you will see a nicely landscaped area along your right. 

Looking down into a steep wedge between the two buildings is where the garden rests, but it was not apparent at first. 

In fact, the entrance is via an enclosed passage that links the two buildings together, but in order to get to that passageway, you must enter Webster Hall and navigate your way down via elevator to the passageway. 

Once you arrive, you see a spectacular view that looks up to a steep incline to where the roadways lies, but is now out of view.

The garden is very well maintained and really is a spectacular garden. It fits in very nicely into what otherwise would have been an open gap between two buildings. The degree to which the landscape architects merged the plantings and topography into what appears to be a natural setting is remarkable. The garden is also populated with features, both man-made and natural, that creates a beautiful space that is balanced in its approach to creating an authentic Japanese garden.

Overall, the visit was well worth the effort. There is no doubt that Yushien is one of the best Japanese gardens in the nation.

Marble House - Chinese Teahouse

While visiting Newport, Rhode Island, I had the opportunity to visit some mansions, including Marble House. This mansion was built between 1888 and 1892 for William K. Vanderbilt as a "summer cottage." 

Website: http://www.newportmansions.org/explore/marble-house

Marble House 

On the grounds of Marble House sits a Chinese Tea House. 

source: http://meetings.newportmansions.org/venues.aspx?id=102

The Tea House was commissioned by Alva Belmont (divorced and remarried) in 1912. 

It opened on July 25, 1914 with a lavish Chinese costume ball at Marble House.

Alva Vanderbilt, seated, second from right

The Tea House was also used for rallies for women's suffrage. By 1919, the mansion and Tea House were permanently shuttered as Alva moved to France. 

Although the Tea House is based on a 12th century Song Dynasty temple, it is more characteristic of the wave of "Oriental Exotica" that spread across North America at the turn of the 19th-20th century. Many Japanese and Chinese style gardens were being built during this period, especially by the wealthy. These gardens had Asian characteristics, but were also reflective of late Victorian early 20th century tastes. The Tea House at Marble House is a good example of this movement.

The front gateway was interesting, especially give that the plaque at the top illustrates what appears to be an example of Confucian inspired filial piety. The male figure in the center is being shown filial respect by a daughter (left) and and son (right).

Chinese Scholar's Garden, Snug Harbor Botanical Garden

Took a trip out to Staten Island to visit the Staten Island, Snug Harbor Botanical Garden's Chinese Scholar's Garden.

寄興園

Jìxīng Yuán

This garden is one of only a few Chinese scholar gardens in the U.S. It was built back in 1999 from prefabricated parts made in China and assembled on site by Chinese workers from Suzhou.

I had the opportunity to visit it in 2000 when it was still new. At that time, there were few planting visible in the garden. Today, 14 years later, it looked very different. Plantings now cover much of the structure, but also make the environment within seem more authentic. The structure needs some repair work, but overall it is in very good shape.

Website: http://snug-harbor.org/botanical-garden/new-york-chinese-scholars-garden/

In addition to the images below, I came across the following video-tour. It is worth a look because it gives an authentic feeling of what it is like to walk through the garden and it was filmed in the fall when the colors are spectacular.

click here for video if using a mobile device