The Normandale Japanese Garden is a 2 acre garden that resides behind the campus of Normandale Community College in Bloomington, Minnesota. Groundbreaking occurred in 1972 and the garden opened in 1976.
Website: https://www.normandale.edu/why-normandale/community/japanese-garden/index.html
Many of the plantings within are local to Minnesota, yet the result is an authentic Japanese garden. The many Japanese inspired hardscape features also contribute to the authenticity. It should be noted that I visited in early September - too soon for fall colors, and too late for spring blossoms. Hence the overwhelmingly green appearance of the garden in the photos that follow.
Two sides of the garden are walled and help differentiate the garden from the buildings of the community college. However the path between the two leading towards the garden gate is an equally inviting stroll.
After passing through the gate, one is confronted with a large square shelter. The views from within offer framed glimpses of the garden.
The hexagon shaped Bentendo and the Taiko-bashi bridge are the most inspiring structures of the garden.
The hexagon structure is dedicated to Benten, the Goddess of Fortune and has characteristics of similar Benten-based island structures I have seen in Japan.
The garden is well maintained, and many of the trees are professionally pruned and cared for. For a garden of this size, it reflects an enormous amount of effort to keep the garden looking pristine.
The large flat bridge is another major architectural feature of the garden.
Rock features and a large waterfall represent a mountain landscape scene and is an impressive hardscape feature.
An umbrella-shaped round shelter along the ridge provides wonderful views of the entire garden from a higher elevation. I especially liked the shrubbery along the stone steps. It was extremely well maintained.
There is also a small zig-zag bridge near the flat bridge. However, I found this feature to be the least authentic. It did provide a water crossing from which a visitor could feed the koi fish in the pond, but with only one "zig" it seemed incomplete.
However, I did like the platform within the rear stream area. It too added an element upon which visitors could interact with nature - another koi feeding area. Perhaps it was the stepping stones, and use of cedar, now aged gray, that gave it a more authentic feeling.
There were also two islands in the pond, a larger turtle island, and smaller island metaphorically representing a crane. These types of islands are common in Japanese gardens and are known to reflect the notion of longevity. The beauty of these islands was a direct result of the care demonstrated by the garden crew in maintaining the trees which resided upon the islands.
Strolling through the garden also offered exceptional views of many of the features, especially from the far side of the pond. The viewing experience changed as one traversed the pathway, the result of a well thought out garden design.
There were also some hidden gems that required one to slow down and discover garden scenes and features, similar to discovering enlightenment. These included a nine-tiered stone pagoda, the interior of the main gate, and views of the garden from outside its walls.
The Normandale Japanese Garden was a real pleasure to experience. In fact, I visited two days in a row - once to get afternoon photos, and again the next day to get morning photos. More importantly, I visited twice because the garden was such an outstanding example of a North American Japanese garden that I could not resist spending more time walking its paths. Not too large, and not too small, this beautify maintained garden was just right. It's a garden well worth visiting.
