Japanese Garden (Sansho-En): Fernleaf maple (Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium'), Shantung

maple (Acer truncatum), Mentor barberry (Berberis x mentorensis), weeping Siberian pea
(Caragana arborescens 'Pendula') – in bud, Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis), Japanese
flowering quince (Chaenomeles japonica 'Maulei'; Chaenomeles x superba 'Cameo'), Betty
magnolia (Magnolia 'Betty'), redbud crabapple (Malus x zumi), Adams crabapple (Malus
'Adams'), May's Delight® crabapple (Malus 'Beeson'), Red Jade crabapple (Malus 'Red Jade'),
Red Jewel crabapple (Malus 'Red Jewel'), Sargent crabapple (Malus sargentii), Tina
crabapple (Malus 'Tina'), Weeping Candied Apple® crab (Malus  'Weepcanzam'), White
Cascade crabapple (Malus 'White Cascade'), Zumi crabapple (Malus x  zumi), Japanese
spurge (Pachysandra terminalis), Sargent cherry (Prunus sargentii), autumn Higan cherry
(Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis'), Russian almond (Prunus tenella  'Fire Hill'), flowering
almond (Prunus triloba), rhododendrons (Rhododendron 'Aglo',  'Pioneer',  'P.J.M.''Weston's
Pink Diamond'), Korean azalea (Rhododendron yedoense var. poukhanense), Grefsheim
spirea (Spiraea x cinerea 'Grefsheim'), Emerald Triumph Viburnum (Viburnum 'Emerald
Triumph').

Explore the Garden

Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden
Sansho-En, or "the garden of three islands," brings nature's tranquility to visitors.

The Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden is a garden of three islands, with much
symbolism in the plants and hardscape elements. With its carefully styled plants and
judiciously placed stones, the garden is a tribute to the beauty of pure form. This garden is a
year-round favorite, especially in winter, when the shadows of trees and boulders on the snow
create another dimension in the garden.

Designed as a stroll garden with curving paths, it discloses its plant treasures gradually. Pines
are pruned to open up distant landscapes, framing perfect views of lakes, grassy hills, woods,
and gardens beyond. In the dry garden on the island of Kieunto, gravel represents water and
plants represent landmasses. The focal point is the traditional Japanese lantern, Ikekomi, with
the shaft buried in the ground to look as though it were surrounded by water. Wintergreen
Korean boxwood represents the islands behind the lantern.

Explore the Garden

Elizabeth Hubert Malott Japanese Garden
Sansho-En is the Garden of the Three Islands. It is a place
of serene beauty where visitors can truly slow down the
pace of their busy lives. From the moment you cross the
bridge, you enter a world where you are encouraged to
observe, listen, and reflect.
 

Japanese Garden in winter

Certainly a garden for all seasons, it is, many say, most beautiful in winter. Those moments
are for snow viewing and shadow watching, where trees and shrubs create landscapes visible
only when the world is white. Secrets are revealed; self-discovery awaits.

Designed as a "stroll garden" with curving paths, it discloses its plant treasures gradually,
never at once. Pines are pruned to open up distant landscapes, framing perfect views of lakes,
grassy hills, woods and gardens beyond. Nature imitates nature as shapes and forms repeat
themselves—snowy mounds might be boulders, buried evergreens or clouds. There is wisdom
in such simplicity.

In warmer weather, visitors may see inside the Shoin Building, a recreation of a 17th-century
samurai’s retreat. The tranquil atmosphere of respect and appreciation is echoed throughout
the garden. Roving interpreters assist visitors with questions about plants and introduce them
to elements of Eastern style and design. Volunteers rake the fine pebbles in the dry gardens,
explaining the significance of the patterns. Visitors are encouraged to sit and rake patterns in a
tabletop garden.

You can listen to the wind, the rustling grasses or the songs of migrating birds. Stop by a
bench and listen to Japanese tales narrated by volunteers. If you visit the garden in spring,
guides will show you pictures of its fall glory; visit in winter and you will be inspired by an
altogether different enchanting scene.
The garden has a quiet power to change. As you leave the garden behind, you will walk away
a different person.

Comments by Kristin Berry, Horticulturist of the Japanese Garden

sansho-en in winter

When I think about Sansho-En in the winter, I get visual flashes in my mind of sparkling
snow, dancing shadows, ice-covered branches. These visions evoke emotional responses not
easily put into words. There are so many different sights, sounds and feelings that they are
difficult to describe in simple sentences. Poetic phrases such as these will hopefully give some
idea of how I view the garden in winter:

— Snow drifts across the raked gravel sea. Crested waves upon the distant
shore.
— Breathe deep the cold crisp air. Feel alive. See beauty and let it shine within.
— Fluffy flakes float down. Soft landing among the forest pines. Bird twitters
and adjusts his warm feathery cloak, snuggled deep in the arms of the
evergreen wood.
— Shadows shift and dance on the white sparkling ground. Ink painting
images. Which inspired which?
— White flowers bloom atop the green sculpted shrubs. Imagine peonies,
camellias, chrysanthemums — buds ready to burst.
— Stark mountain pines in the distance. Foggy island everlasting.

Plant Science — Conservation

Checklist: Invasive Plants in the Chicago
Region
Berberis thunbergii
(Japanese barberry)
 

Photos of Berberis thunbergii.

 Enjoy
Your Visit — WALK THE GARDEN
Celebrate Winter

In the classic, snow-filled landscape of deep winter,

there are many images of great beauty — some of them overlooked by nature lovers and
gardeners alike, simply because “it's just too cold to go outside.” Perhaps that's true when the
windchill dips to threatening levels or the snow blows sideways; but when the air is clear and
calm, and the sun gleams off the snow, it's time to take pleasure in the private world of plants
in winter. What better place to seek out those winter-white showoffs than the newly renovated
Dwarf Conifer Garden?

Against the snowy slopes, tall conifers loom large, with their sweeping, pendulous branch tips
weighted down, sometimes to the ground, with puffs of snow. Their dwarf counterparts
remain half-buried in mounds of white, some sporting snow caps or domes at rakish angles.
Prostrate, ground-hugging conifers as well as the tall cascading evergreens make the most of
the protective quality of snow, and create secret caves where birds and wildlife can weather
 the storms.

What a delight to see how the garden's woody plants, ornamental grasses, and perennials all
contribute to the fourth-season landscape! Proudly poking through snowdrifts that might have
toppled other plants are the tawny stems and flowers of once-dark pink hydrangeas. Fuzzy,
deep maroon sedums, darkened foliage of azaleas, and dried, caramel rose leaves peek
through the snow, assuring us that spring beauty will return. Familiar yellow and red stems of
dogwood puncture through the heavy white blanket, as do feather-light grasses that cast
almost imperceptible shadows on the snow.

How glad we feel for the subtlety of this season, where small favors are so enjoyed. The
threadlike wisps of Russian sage — how can they possibly stand so straight in this winter of
heavy snow? Tips of some green, swordlike foliage slice through the white, urging us to
return in summer and confirm the identity of this unknown plant.

The splendid views from the Dwarf

Conifer Garden to the Malott Japanese Garden encompass a broad expanse of white land and
white water, with no indication of where one form ends and the other begins. Framing it all,
on the distant horizon, are the massive trees of McDonald Woods, brown, leafless, and silent
when viewed from afar, with the three islands of Sansho-En appearing as soft meringue
pillows floating in cream. Designed as a strolling garden with curving paths, the Malott
Japanese Garden is considered by many to be most beautiful in winter. Its inherent design,
with an emphasis on nature's forms — clouds, stones, hills — revisits this theme when plants
are covered with snow. Tightly pruned magnolias, azaleas, forsythia, quince, as well as
smooth lumps of yews and junipers, now resemble white boulders or fluffy clouds. Open-
pruned pines, wired to maximize long and borrowed views, are natural snow catchers,
offering up their own cushions of snow.
 In Japan, families time their garden outings to catch the cherry
blossoms at their finest, the fire of maples in fall, the peak of chrysanthemum blooms, or the
delicacy of azalea displays. They also plan winter walks in snow specifically for snow
viewing and shadow watching — a happening where trees and shrubs create a second shadow
landscape on the snowy ground. Stripped of their leaves, the garden's classic maples reveal
their inner beauty. The fernleaf maple, Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium', boasts a smooth gray
trunk with coralish red side branches. The peeling, burnished bronze bark of paperbark maple,
Acer griseum, is a jewel in the sun. The deep furrows of the large sugar maple, Acer
saccharum, are echoed in the strong trunk of the neighboring weeping maple, Acer
saccharinum 'Beebe's Cutleaf Weeping'. For those with an eye to detail, look at the small,
bluish white and yellow lichen patches pasted on the tree trunks (also visible in the growing
season on rocks and boulders). Contrary to popular belief, they are not parasites leaching off
the maple. They are quite unique organisms composed of fungi and algae living on the bark.

Walking in a white winter land muffles certain sounds while intensifying others. Senses are
heightened. Visitors will hear a variety of winter birds calling as they flit and forage for seeds.
Listen for the chickadees, juncos, goldfinches, woodpeckers, and nuthatches drawn to the
garden for food and refuge. Hawks and owls can be seen circling high or gliding low as they
seek their prey. Early afternoon lengthens the shadow play, stretching the snaking figures
across the snow, moving them down the hill to the snow-covered valley where, perhaps feet
below this snowy surface, land and water meet.

Education — Lenhardt Library

Current Books & Book Reviews

Herb L. Gustafson.
The Art of Japanese Gardens.
New York: Sterling, 2001.
paper, 144 p., ISBN 0-806-90963-3, $19.95.

apanese gardens combine many approaches to garden space, some methods thousands of
years old. The author in this book leads readers into an inspiring yet practical work aiming to
bring the Japanese garden and its philosophies into home landscaping. Five important
Japanese garden forms — the strolling path, flat sea, natural garden, teahouse and sand and
stone garden — are highlighted in this book, along with suggestions for incorporating these
concepts into smaller areas.
Traditional Japanese gardens have vast arrays of symbolic representations. Symbolism is
important in this book, and it suggests ways in which such symbolism can be incorporated
into today's garden to spiritual as well as practical effect. Color photographs highlight
traditional garden ornaments such as animals, lanterns, water basins, benches and bridges. A
Japanese desire for asymmetry and minimal use of flowers is pictured in the positioning of
plantings and sculpture; in this book, Japanese pavilions, teahouses and a moon-viewing
building are revealed in both text and picture.

Using illustrative photographs, the author discusses garden boundaries in terms of fences,
walls and gates; he also focuses on interior uses of rocks, boulders and stones. Maintenance
methods are listed, too. Water also plays an important role in a Japanese garden, and the
author uses diagrams and photographs to depict the use of plants within ponds, waterfalls and
streams.

Finally, this inspiring book gives readers a handy plant list of Japanese, common and
botanical names suitable for Japanese gardens. There is also a plant list grouped by use.

— Elaine Juhl, Master Gardener and Volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden.

Explore the Garden

Bonsai Collection – Summer
 

Japanese witch hazel Variegated Asian star jasmine

Hamamelis japonica Trachelospermum asiaticum
Informal upright style variegatum
Cascade style
Satsuki Kaho azalea Perfume jasmine
Rhododendron indicum 'Kaho' Jasminum odoratissimum
Informal upright style Informal upright style

Crape myrtle Maidenhair tree

Lagerstroemia indica Ginkgo biloba
Informal upright style Formal upright style

Magnolia Japanese needle juniper

Magnolia x wieseneri Juniperus rigida
Informal upright style Raft style
Stewartia Japanese beech
Stewartia monadelpha Fagus crenata
Broom style Informal upright style

Japanese snowbell Japanese white pine

Styrax japonicus Pinus parviflora
Informal upright style Formal upright style

Oriental bittersweet Japanese Zuisho white pine

Celastrus orbiculatus Pinus parvlora 'Zuisho'
Semi-cascade style Slanting style
Japanese white pine Cape jessamine
Pinus parviflora Gardenia augusta
Semi-cascade style Semi-cascade style

Asian star jasmine Chinese fringe flower

Trachelospermum asiaticum Loropetalum chinense
Informal upright style Informal upright style

Japanese cornelian cherry

Cornus officinalis
Informal upright style

Your Garden — Gardening

Help
Gardening Tips & Techniques
Japanese Garden Design
Visitors to Japanese gardens often have questions about the
types of plants they see, the design of the garden and the
objects that are positioned around the garden. Kristin Berry,
the horticulturist for Sansho-En, the Japanese Garden at the
Chicago Botanic Garden, answers some of the most
common questions she encounters:

What is the significance of the rocks placed around the

garden?
Rocks are considered to be the "skeleton" of the earth and of
a garden; they are the first element put into a garden during
construction. Skilled rock setters can make rocks look as if
they have been a part of that setting forever.

Why are the plants so heavily pruned?

The goal behind Japanese garden design is to make a
representation of nature. The plants are pruned and groomed
to appear ideal or almost perfect. During the growing
season, most shrubs are pruned every two weeks. Pines and
large deciduous trees are pruned up to three times per year,
as needed. The act of grooming and pruning makes the
gardener become one with the plant and with the garden. In
most homes in Japan, it is a daily ritual to groom a garden
by removing dead leaves and insects, pruning plants and
finally sweeping the garden clean.

What are the water basins for?

Water plays a very important role in Japanese gardens.
Basins are placed throughout the garden in special locations
to allow visitors to purify themselves, both physically (by
washing their hands and drinking the water) and spiritually
(by symbolically washing away their cares).

What is a Zen garden?

The term "Zen garden" was coined in the 1950s to refer to
the abstract rock and sand gardens found at Zen Buddhist
temples in Japan. The correct term for this type of garden is
karesansui, or dry garden. Many of these gardens are made
strictly of sand or gravel beds along with an arrangement of
boulders. Others may include plants. The sand in a dry
garden is raked in patterns representing waves, ripples or
even rice paddies. Other patterns are simply abstract and
follow the flow of the garden.

Are all the plants in Japanese gardens from Japan?

The plants in Sansho-En were chosen because they grow
well in the Chicago area, not because they are native to
Japan. Some Japanese plants require an acid soil instead of
the Midwest's alkaline soil, while others cannot tolerate the
region's cold winters. All gardeners must understand the
growing conditions for their plants before placing them in a
garden. Any plant may be used in a Japanese garden if it
conforms to the design of the garden and is maintained
according to Japanese gardening principles.

Why aren't there more flowers in the Japanese Garden?

There may not be many flowering perennials or annuals, but
there are many flowering plants. They're chosen specifically
for their short bloom time to reflect the fleeting quality of
human life, which is in direct contrast to the infinite nature
of the rocks. On Sansho-En, look for iris, rhododendron,
plum, quince and magnolia, among others.

What is the significance of the stone lanterns?

In Japan, lanterns were used to light paths outside Buddhist
temples. When a new garden was added, old temples were
raided for rocks, plants and lanterns. When teahouses
became popular, gardens were added to them, and the
garden quickly became an important part of the tea
ceremony itself. Since tea ceremonies were often performed
at night, lanterns would light key areas of the garden.
Whether used for lighting or ornamentation, lanterns should
be located where a path turns or near a gate or doorway.

Are there statues of Buddha in the garden?

Buddha statues, as well as other religious artifacts, are used
mainly in temple gardens. Homeowners, however, might
have one or two artifacts in their own gardens, either as
good luck charms or for private worship.

What is the importance of pathways in a Japanese

garden?
Paths are designed to guide visitors through the garden and
allow visitors to see the garden from many angles.
Designers can hide a view to create mystery or to open up a
beautiful vista for a visitor turning a corner on a path. Paths
keep visitors from damaging fragile ground covers such as
moss and sedum. Paths in the dry gravel gardens also allow
visitors to enjoy the garden without disturbing the carefully
raked patterns and smooth surfaces.

When is the best time of year to visit the Japanese

garden?
Sansho-en is designed as a public stroll garden. The plants
were chosen because their ornamental characteristics appear
at different times throughout the year. In spring, crab apples
and azaleas are particularly beautiful. In early summer,
irises bloom, cattails show off and visitors can enjoy all the
various textures and shades of green. In fall, bush clover
blooms, cascading chrysanthemums line the walkways, and
the leaves of many trees and shrubs begin to turn brilliant
colors. Winter holds special interest because of the way
snow piles on the pruned junipers, looking like blossoms
about to burst; and the pine trees create fascinating shadows
on the snow-covered ground. At all times of the year, the
peaceful nature of the garden allows visitors to sit quietly,
listen to the birds and enjoy the beauty of the garden.