On this sunny late March day, the path to the garden is flanked by blossoming ornamental plums, leading to the Knowing the Spring Courtyard where a peach tree has set blooms that will transform to actual peaches in summer.
The Seattle Chinese Garden is a project of the collaboration with Chongqing which became Seattle's sister city in 1983. Its first construction was the tiny but elegant Song Mei pavilion. Then in 2010, a Chinese crew specializing in building classical gardens arrived to put together the Knowing the Spring Courtyard whose buildings were fabricated in China. The five acre site will eventually include a tea house, a pond and stream, and a four story tower from which visitors can view the city-scape and mountains.
Chinese classical gardens derive from the imperial hunting parks of ancient kings, and always involve four elements: plants, the yang or strength principle of stones, the yin or flowing/feminine principle of water, and architecture (implying people). All the stones in Seattle's garden came from China, including the large boulders carefully arranged to resemble miniature mountains. The crevices in these "mountains" made by wind and water erosion symbolize places for the immortals to dwell and to lead visitors on a spiritual journey.
One guiding principle of a Chinese garden is the idea of experiencing only a part of the whole at a time, while glimpses of what is to come "leak" through. So, the mostly enclosed Knowing the Spring Courtyard also features concrete latticed windows that allow small snapshots of the garden's next section.
Everything in a Chinese garden is symbolic or alludes to an aspect of the culture. Thus, the garden's pine trees refer to Confucius, longevity and wisdom. The bamboo represents the aspects of a good character: it grows in clumps indicating an emphasis on family, it bends in storms but springs back showing resilience and strength.
Feng shui, the theory of auspicious siting, is especially successful in Seattle's garden. It faces south, as a garden should ideally do, and has mountains to the north to block evil spirits and cold winds. Water plays an important role in the flow of chi (energy) and the Seattle garden, situated in West Seattle, has water on three sides. The Chinese gardeners from Sichuan province were particularly excited by the feng shui of our sister city site.
Admission to the garden is always free. On Saturdays from spring to fall, free tours are offered at 1 pm. For more information, including special events such as the peony festival and kite festival, see the website http://www.seattlechinesegarden.org/
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