Hi All,
Just about 45 miles from here on an azimuth of about 300° are the Anderson Japanese Gardens. (http://www.andersongardens.org/)
It's a charming if smallish Arboretum, comprising only about 13 acres near the Rock River. The outer ring of it is remarkably well ordered and beautiful, despite the absence of flowers, or plant name tags carrying Linnean descriptors.
All of which my friend Jan and i found to be charming enough but did nothing to prepare us for what could be called the inner ring or garden center. There was a sign at the threshold of this inner sanctum that spoke about time. But that wasn't quite correct, as upon crossing the threshold both she and i entered a space that could be better described as timeless. Right away i understood that something about the way this inner space was constructed had the effect on both of us of entering an altered state of consciousness. My shorthand descriptor of such an experience is that my vision changed; in integralspeak we'd had taken on or occupied a different perspective. Such states are difficult to describe of course, but even the grassy areas were seen to have been groomed by some knowing and invisible hand. This state lasted until we crossed the threshold in reverse direction and left the inner for the outer.
This little adventure had an effect on me; not so much because of the state itself, but an ongoing amazement that a culture on this planet had sufficiently evolved to the point that it could design and execute a garden that could deliberately trigger such a state!
In the days that followed i opted for a course to honor such a culture and its accomplishments by introducing elements of both Japanese and Western gardening to my one third acre here on a hill that causes the southbound Fox River to detour a whole mile to the west, on its route to join with the Illinois and eventually the Mississippi Rivers.
With the aid of my library friend at the Sterling Morton library in the Arboretum located in Lisle, Illinois (Mortonarb.org) i did some research on Japanese lanterns, finding that they're mostly made from stone –and calling for a skill outside my area of expertise. Cedar however, when left outside to age, turns gray and could be used to simulate stone. A 21st-century Western touch called for the installation of a solar powered LED garden light in wooden lantern -one that turns itself on and off automatically at dusk and dawn.
Then i got it into my head to build a small red humped Japanese-style red bridge over an existing swale that marked the edge of a grassy area from a wooded one at a place on the site that had been left undeveloped. In the back of my mind i had a tentative plan to establish two little ponds with a solar powered pump to deliver water from the lower to a higher and have it trickle-down along the swale and under the red bridge.
But things didn't happen quite that way. Somehow the notion of simulation popped into my mind once again. And something unique happened. And rather than go on about it in my typical wordy fashion, here is a link to a recent video. http://www.youtube.com/v/rDFhGS7nLlo
Warmly,
Charles
88W18'28" 41N58'02"