Origami flower on boulder, photo courtesy of M. Craig

Yesterday I watched instructor M. Craig (half Japanese Nisei) teach and fold origami (Japanese paper folding) in a children’s workshop, and also took photos below of her lovely origami creations scattered throughout the newly opened Yume Japanese Gardens in Tucson.

An origami workshop for adults is scheduled for today at 2 p.m. at the Yume Japanese Gardens. The workshop costs $10 and does not include admission to the gardens.

M. Craig teaching two children and a parent to fold origami butterflies

Ursula Hein admiring her origami butterfly

L – R: Origami teacher M. Craig, students Madeline Riccitello, Ursula Hein

Here’s a sampling of some of the beauty of what you will see at this origami exhibit, ongoing till April 14. Yume Japanese Gardens is open daily, 9:30 to 4:30 p.m. at 2130 N. Alvernon Way (just south of Tucson Botanical Gardens). There are many more beautiful & colorful origami creations throughout the gardens to view.

origami butterfly

origami plant boxes

origami turtles

origami fish near koi pond

origami turtle next to koi pond

origami star on display shelf

origami white rose

origami hummingbird on wisteria vine

Fore more information about Japanese culture/events in Tucson, please go to Southern Arizona Japanese Cultural Coalition www.southernazjapan.org. My previous post announcing this first-time 2 week origami exhibit (click here).

Yume Japanese Gardens is the living expression of an ancient Japanese heritage. Covering three quarters of an acre in Tucson, Arizona, it comprises five traditional visions of landscape. In each, nature is balanced by the human hand to render the serene elegance and subtle spirit of an authentic Japanese garden.

On Monday I posted a story that a lovely, new Japanese garden is to open to the public this coming Saturday, January 19, at 9:30 a.m. Click here for previous article. This garden is the first Japanese garden in Tucson, and will become a new tourist attraction for Tucson.

On January 15 I was one of the lucky few invited to the V.I.P/media grand opening at the Yume Japanese Gardens, 2130 N. Alvernon Way, due south of the Tucson Botanical Gardens. At the opening there was a blessing by a Zen Buddhist priestess, taiko drumming by Odaiko Sonora, a tea ceremony, platters of sushi & souvenir cedar cups of sake (Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented rice). There were even bonsai on display and a young golden koi named “Yume” was released into the koi pond.

The priestess Daien Bennape said that founder/executive director Patricia Deridder created these gardens out of her “love of beauty, nature, the invisible and visible worlds”. The garden name is “yume” meaning dream in Japanese, since it was obviously the dream/vision of Patricia’s to create this oasis in the desert. I saw this dirt lot in midtown that Patricia purchased a few years ago amazingly transform into a lovely, tranquil place of beauty.

Yume is Tucson’s “first and only public, non-profit Japanese Garden and is designed according to Japanese landscaping traditions”. Patricia Deridder lived in Japan for 15 years and became inspired to build such a lovely garden here in Tucson. Membership levels are available on their website (www.tucsonjapanesegardens.com) for those of you who want to visit more often. All photos were taken by me at the grand opening of some of the various smaller gardens & features at this attraction.

Japanese tea ceremony, with Fukumi Zapp and Saburo Sakai

Taiko drumming by Odaiko Sonora with Karen Falkenstrom and Marnie Sharp

Yume Japanese Gardens are indeed lovely yet tranquil, a true gem for visitors to enjoy nature, to reflect upon Life, and admire Japanese landscape beauty. The parting shot I took was this unique ikebana arrangement at the tea house, with its fleeting shadow.

May 11 is National Public Gardens Day when these two gardens listed below are free of charge all day. Adult admission at both parks is regularly $8, so save some money & enjoy nature.

Tucson Botanical Garden, 2150 N. Alvernon Way, http://www.tucsonbotanical.org/events/national-public-gardens-day/. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m, this garden is located south of Grant Rd. on Alvernon.

Learn water conservation, native and adaptable plants and landscape design experientially, through visits to our seventeen, residentially scales gardens. For that hands-on experience, take advantage of the delightful Exploring Tucson Botanical Gardens tour (10 a.m.). This tour delivers some fascinating plant trivia, offers history of the Gardens and familiarizes you with our native flora as well as the wide variety of plants that grow in Tucson.

The other garden is Tohono Chul Park, 7366 N. Paseo del Norte (NW of Ina/Oracle). Hours are 8 to 5 p.m. Website is http://www.tohonochulpark.org/wordpress/.

Award-winning Tohono Chul Park is where nature, art and culture connect. Named one of the World’s Great Botanical Gardens by Travel + Leisure and listed by National Geographic Traveler as one of the top 22 Secret Gardens in the U.S. and Canada, there is something for everyone. This oasis in the desert offers a respite from the hectic pace of daily life, provides an informative look at the region’s fascinating cultural traditions and its even more interesting flora and fauna, and is the perfect setting for an evening concert, special event or family wedding. Come and discover its nature!

Enjoy either or both of these peaceful gardens on May 11, before the summer heat rolls in.

Southern Arizona Koi Association (SAKA) is having their annual Garden Pond Tour will be on May 14 & 15. The club will be donating $1 from each ticket sold to the Japanese Red Cross for earthquake relief.

Tickets are only $5 each and children 12 and under are free. They are available at many landscape and garden centers in town as listed on the flyer:

Civano Nursery, Green Things, Harlow’s, Magic Gardens Nursery, Mesquite Valley Growers, Ponds Plants & more, Rillito Nursery, Sheldon’s Nursery, Tohono Chul Park, Tucson Botanical Gardens, and Mt. View Koi (in Hereford, AZ).

I’ve never been on this koi garden tour, but I intend to check out some of these lovely ponds this weekend.

A few highlights for this year’s pond tour will be several very large ponds of over 20,000 gallons with jumbo koi. There will be a dozen ponds, plus one bonus pond in a variety of styles. SAKA tried to group them on Saturday and Sunday, so there will be a little less driving than in prior years.

More info: www.sakoia.org, 520-390-0879, tucsonpondtour@yahoo.com.

And doesn’t it sound peaceful to drop by several cool koi ponds on a hot almost-summer day?
Enjoy the koi!

Southern Arizona Koi Association, Inc. logo

By the way, koi are colorful ornamental fish, otherwise known as Japanese carp.

6 ponds will be open on Saturday and 6 on Sunday with one pond open both days. It is a self-guided tour, so you can see one or all of the ponds. Each ticket is also an entry in our prize drawing for some nice pond books and a subscription to Koi USA Magazine. There is also a koi trivia game to play along the way, to learn something new about koi which makes a great “day trip” for the whole family.

“Tucson has had an active Koi Club for over 30 years. Two Associated Koi Clubs of America certified Koi Judges and two trained Koi Health Advisors (like Koi Doctors) are members and live here in Southern Arizona”, according to Jeanmarie Schiller-McGinnis, Pond Tour Committee chair.

More information: www.sakoi.org, tucsonpondtour@yahoo.com, 520-628-0381.

Tickets available at Magic Gardens Nursery, Mesquite Valley Growers, Harlow’s, Tucson Botanical Gardens, Green Things, Pond Plants & More, Rillito Nursery, Sheldon’s Nursery, Civano Nursery, Tohono Chul Park, Mountain View Koi (Hereford, AZ).

So if you’re passionate about these lovely koi fish (and I knew many back home in Hawaii who were and probably still are, as koi can live to 200 years), get your tickets and visit these lovely ponds.

The Southern Arizona Koi Association is also having their 31st Annual Pond Show coming up on November 13 & 14, 2010, so mark your calendars now.

Enjoy koi!

Parade of Ponds flyer