a few words on appreciating gardens and for the galleries below: garden works

Fuzei Value:

**Environmentally sensitive, eco-friendly recycling, reusing & repurposing. In Japanese: ‘mitate-mono’,

by example, maximizing natural resources: fine twigs and branches are chipped for mulch, and trunks are re-used for tea house ‘tokonoma’ posts, windows and sleeve fences ‘sode-gaki’.

* As another evolved example, Niwa Magazine recently showed a photograph wherein a metal brake-drum was used as the end piece of a clay tiled dobei (mud) wall. In Nelson B.C., Izushi, Jim Sawada built the entry gate with joinery, nail protector medallions made of plumbing reducers.

and we are always seeking ways to improve on what has been done before.

Gardens as works are inherently always a work in progress, an evolution. One question of the viewer would be to ask “where do you think this garden is in its evolution?”

Considerations come into play that often require an understanding of what is seen, portrayed or should be understood. Viewing gardens should require an understanding of the scope of the project, the purpose for which the garden has been developed, the budget and materials used or available as tools to articulate a clients comment and taste.

However, most often we can not ask a gardener or the garden owner, with the result that all we can ask is of ourselves, and through our questions gain an understanding of what is intended in the portrayal.

If we see an anomaly, do we ask why it is? or do we simply say we don’t like that and dismiss the effort?

At times a garden also becomes a statement of what materials are not available that in turn requires the gardener and viewer to see with different eyes than the traditional norm. Many gardens are built in stages determined by material availability or budget, some have additions added through gifts or the owners desire to build a bridge until a better one was found or imported.

Some gardens are built and have a European gardener to care for and develop them.

Any and all variables apply. Just ask.

Over the years I have come to deeply respect the basis of the Vancouver Japanese Gardeners Associations’ Sumi Awards. The fundamental question during a garden tour is the gardeners comment on the objective, the clients’ needs and the budget within which the entire artistry needed to be rendered.

Often an Award winning garden has a modest budget and excels through the result of the simple limited materials through which masterful arrangement successfully conveys the concept of beauty and clients taste.

And often, to achieve this success, the concept of “mitate-mono” is employed. Mitate-mono is the re-thinking of materials such that they can be re-used in another manner to function within a design.* Perhaps in todays world the common translation is ‘re-purposing’, as in reusing in the sustainable sense. In part, ‘re-purposing’ is accurate, especially as the Japanese garden specializes in sustainability, however the Japanese garden adds another facet of “mitate”, that also indicates “please see with my eyes”. In the ‘seeing with another’s eyes’ the Intention or Authors Intent becomes clear.

To illustrate a common example, this would mean that if a shrub is shaped to resemble a stone, then the garden is requesting of the viewer to “please see with my eyes that this shrub is really a stone in this compositional place”.

It is often mentioned that one could as easily use a rusty car fender as a ‘symbol’, a ‘re-seeing’ of an object, as a stone or mountain range. Ideally for understandable context this re-used, re-seen rusty fender would be used in a garden composition in a auto wrecking yard, however in any other location, if the rusty fender is the only material available, then the only question is, “how can this material be best used to convey the right idea that needs to convey the beauty of the composition”.*

This idea of re-use and re-seeing of materials is what is considered authentic in a Japanese garden. Authenticity is the carrying forward of the intent of the gardener. It should be understood that authenticity is when the concept of the heart, kokoro, of the Japanese garden is applied, as a basis derived from the Japanese people that adoption is the heart of the people reusing materials in new ways.

Authenticity is when a garden is developed to meet the expectations of the gardener or author of the garden and is complete to that view, at which time the garden begins a another cycle of refinement. Yes, the western idea of authenticity is to mean “using original parts”, however, this would be applying western values to eastern ideals.

As a result, critique is beneficial and a useful tool needed to see where a portion of the garden is designed to evolve into. Deficiencies found through critique may reveal purposeful areas that allow a client to take ownership of a garden, as ownership is one of the universal foundations of gardening: the creation of ‘inner’ space demarcated from outside ‘mundane’ space (niwa/sono). Critique is also beneficial to decide what is useful for the self in a garden example, as tastes differ person to person, experience to experience.

Please, always ask oneself what the Intent of the Author is or was. This concept allows every garden to be appreciated in the value system of the client. This concept is conducive to accepting our fellow ‘person’ and bringing harmony to the world.

Please also ask oneself what the budget was, the time investment afforded and the investment/availability of materials.

thank you for seeing with the clients & my eyes, edzard teubert

fuzei gardens & tree service ltd. + 403 . 931.3817 edzard@fuzei.com

a few words on appreciating gardens and for the galleries below: garden works