Posts Tagged With: COVID-19

Quiet Volunteers Catch up on Deferred Maintenance

Posted on January 3, 2021 by usjapanesegardens

With all of the public health precautions, public gardens the world over have faced closures, financial challenges, and in some cases deferred maintenance.

Some public gardens have used the closure time to accomplish long awaited improvements. The Japanese garden at Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan, used the time to reset large stones along a path and repair a hillside.

Lili`uokalani Gardens in Hilo experienced a little of both deferred maintenance and long awaited improvement. Thanks to the quiet actions of several volunteer groups, several deferred maintenance projects are being brought current since July.

Here are some of the more recent tasks.

In early November, students on a gap semester tour of Hawaii spent four days in Lili`uokalani Gardens. One of the tasks was renewing the azalea bed near Shoroan, the Urasenke Society of Hilo tea house. All sod removed from this area was moved to the meadow to build up eroded soil around the base of the large stones set by Kazuo Nakamura in 1976.
After removing sod and weeds, the soil was amended and holes dug for new plantings. Then the bed was fertilized and topped with bark mulch.
The ARCC gap semester students at the end of the azalea bed task
A week after the students upgraded the azalea patch, Rotary Club of Hilo celebrated their centennial by planting 100 trees and bushes in Hilo, including two azalea in this patch.. Mahalo Wally Wong and Nancy Cabral.
Hilo Visayan Club joined in the fun for the first time taking two Sundays of members’ valuable time. First, the sumo ring was cleaned from ceiling to floor.
the end of the first Sunday
The following Sunday, a larger crew joined to paint the rafters and posts.
Friends of Lili`uokalani Gardens provided the paint and Hilo Visayan Club provided the painters
at the end of the day, the entire interior plus the picnic table had new coats of paint
meanwhile, across the park, the Lions tended to the Lions Legacy Project, pulling weeds along the sidewalk, pressure washing the sidewalk, thinning the iris hillside, cleaning white stones, and several other chores
separate groups (save for this group photograph) of no more than five accomplished a variety of tasks at the Lions Legacy Project in the southern shaded section of Lili`uokalani Gardens

For more information, please see the Friends of Lili`uokalani Gardens page on Facebook. Web page is under construction.

Categories: Hawaii, Hilo | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

October conference postponed until next year

Posted on May 26, 2020 by usjapanesegardens

Promoting the Art, Craft and Heart of Japanese gardens in the USA and Canada.

2020 Conference Postponed
Dear NAJGA Community, 

This year’s conference was going to focus on adaptability and resilience. These themes couldn’t be more appropriate during our uncertain times. In the challenges of the current situation, each of us as well as our affiliated organizations have adapted to discover the resilience needed to sustain our missions.

Given the circumstances, our Planning Committee has made the difficult decision to postpone this year’s conference. The conference will be rescheduled to take place in the fall of 2021.

In lieu of this October’s conference, and to put adaptability and resilience into action, we would like to organize a series of live and recorded webinars (lectures, demonstrations, etc.) on various topics. We plan to begin these webinars in the summer of this year.

Our first webinars will focus on Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens’ Stroll for Well-Being program on June 17th and June 24th. We will send a call for additional proposals within the next month, but if you have any ideas please don’t hesitate to share them with us.

We wish you health and happiness in the coming months.
Warm regards,

Marisa Rodriguez
NAJGA Manager

*The photo above is of the Japanese Friendship Garden of San Diego.

Article re-posted from North American Japanese Garden Association news. For further information, see the NAJGA web site NAJGA
Categories: California, San Diego | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Enjoy gardens (from a distance) during stay-home order

Posted on April 2, 2020 by usjapanesegardens

Stay Home orders have been issued by several states in addition to the closure of even more public places such as museums and public parks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

During “stay home” orders, several public gardens have devised ways to allow the public inside through postings on social media, video tours, and online classes.

The North American Japanese Garden Association (NAJGA) encourages support of one’s local garden during and after this public health crisis. In addition, NAJGA prepared a list of resources and links to a few children’s activities, which follows.

Enjoy Japanese Gardens from Home

As most gardens have temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, we encourage you to support and follow your favorite gardens online- and explore new ones.

We have created this resource page for virtual tours, books, videos, websites and other content you may enjoy. If you would like to contribute content, please email info@najga.org. We’d love the opportunity to share your garden through our network.

Please check back periodically as we will update this page regularly.

We hope you will continue to enjoy the beauty and calm of Japanese gardens from home.

Facebook Live Streams
RoHoEn– Daily at 10am MST

Virtual Visits/Tours:
1. Montreal Botanical Garden
2. Portland Japanese Garden
3. Japanese Tea Garden 
4. Missouri Botanical Garden 
5. Virtual Tours of Japan’s Gardens by Professor Clifton Olds 
6. Better Homes & Gardens: Virtual Stroll of US Botanical Gardens
7. 7 Places to See Japanese Gardens in the U.S. (featuring many member gardens)

Instagram Pages with Photos of Japanese Gardens:
Craig Westland’s Rockford Tai Chi & Tai Chi for Gardeners 

Books:
1. Japanese Garden Notes: A Visual Guide to Elements and Design by Marc Keane
2. Secret Teachings in the Art of Japanese Gardens by David A. Slawson
3. The Art of the Japanese Garden by David and Michiko Young
4. Professor Clifton Olds Bibliography– A great list of resources!

5. The Kyoto Journal also has a wealth of information including this article on the art of stone setting.

Videos:
1. Dream Window: Reflections on the Japanese Garden

Websites:
1. Japanese Gardening Organization
2. Japanese Gardening Society of the UK

Home Gardening Links:
1. 10 Ways to Garden During Self-Isolation
2. Cultivate Something Good- Your Garden and Your Well-Being
3. Victory Garden 2.0- Ten Steps for Planning Your Own
4. Kids Gardening Made Easy

NAJGA logo

Categories: Canada, Hawaii, Hilo, Missouri, Oregon, Portland, St. Louis | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Stay Safe, Be Well

Posted on April 1, 2020 by usjapanesegardens

All over the world, people are staying home to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.  Museums, public parks and gardens (and much more) are closed some indefinitely, some through the end of April at least.

one more look – vantage point near the old sumo ring pavilion

one more look before lockdown goes into effect – overview

Throughout Hawai`i, preparations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were made in advance of Wednesday, March 25, when County parks closed. Overview photos posted above were taken Tuesday, March 24. One exception is exercise, but social distance should be observed.

official park closure notice on a barrier at the intersection of Banyan Drive and Lihiwai Street (photo credit: Ku`ehu Mauga, 28 March 2020)

Closed Indefinitely sign posted on the bridge to Mokuola (photo credit Ohelo Brown, 23 March 2020)

Thank you to our County Parks personnel for keeping tables and restrooms disinfected daily and for maintaining the parks. All Friends of Lili`uokalani Gardens volunteer days are suspended pending reopening of the gardens.

one good thing: with all the emphasis on washing one’s hands with soap and water, we now have soap in the restroom at Lili`uokalani Gardens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

barriers signal the small parking lot by the tea house, Okinawa boats, and old sumo ring is closed (photo credit: Ku`ehu Mauga 28 March 2020)

unusual morning view of Lihiwai Street (photo credit: Ku`ehu Mauga 28 March 2020)

morning walkers observe social distancing rules (photo credit: Ku`ehu Mauga 28 March 2020)

A message from Hawai`i County Civil Defense on Wednesday, 1 April 2020:

“All must adhere to social distancing and wear protective face mask.

“Your involvement is needed to follow all policies to stop the spread of the virus.  Do Call Civil Defense at 935-0031 for any clarification on these matters.

“Coronavirus is no April Fool’s joke, please follow all preventive measures and observe social distancing of at least 6 feet and keep groups less than 10 people.

“Thank you for listening and be well.”

For additional information, here is a link to Friends of Lili`uokalani Gardens newsletter for April 2020. Articles and photographs by Ku`ehu Mauga, Amy Nishiura, Walter Imahara, Bill & K.T. Eger.

Newsletter April 2020

UPDATE: Thursday, April 23, 2020

Visitors who do not observe the 14-day quarantine are subject to arrest, fines, and a trip back to where they came from.

Three Visitors Arrested After Breaking Quarantine On Banyan Drive

Categories: Hawaii, Hilo | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

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