FALL 2017 PARKSIDE HERMANN PARK CONSERVANCY NEWSLETTER 1&3 in the park Hermann Park’s Beloved Japanese Garden Celebrates 25th Anniversary Hermann Park’s Beloved Japanese 2 Letter From the President Garden Celebrates 25th Anniversary 4 Hermann Park’s Japanese Garden was created in 1992 when the City of Get Active with HPC’s Fall Community Events Houston engaged renowned Japanese landscape architect Ken Nakajima Urban Green’s Havana Nights to design five acres of Park space for an authentic Japanese Garden. 5 New Conservancy Board Members 6–7 Evening in the Park 8 Job Shadow Program Summer Interns 9 Featured Plant HPC Celebrates George Hermann’s 174th Birthday Phillips 66 Helps to Keep Hermann Park Beautiful 10 Save the Dates! Top left: New ceremonial entrance gate on the garden’s west side; Bottom left: A small gazebo in the garden, which received a new roof as part of the rennovations; Above: View of the traditional dry stream garden Built to symbolize the friendship • The creation of an event lawn, which between the United States and Japan, will allow cultural groups wishing to use and to recognize Houston’s thriving the garden to help raise funds for its Japanese community, the Japanese preservation. Garden, offers a stunning oasis in • A “dry” stream garden (Karesansui), EVENING IN THE PARK Hermann Park and celebrates Houston’s designed by Japanese landscape see pages 6–7 ever-increasing diversity. architect, Terunobu Nakai, located just To commemorate the garden’s 25th inside the west gate welcoming visitors MISSION anniversary this year, the Conservancy and setting the tone for their visit. Hermann Park and the Japanese Garden Advisory • A new maintenance and storage area Conservancy is a Committee sought to complete a major to improve the efficiency of the Parks citizens’ organization renovation to further enhance its beauty, Department staff, Conservancy staff, and dedicated to the while also making it more accessible to volunteers working in the garden. stewardship and visitors. These improvements included: • The replacement of the garden’s improvement of • A new west entrance gate of traditional perimeter fence and essential roof repairs Hermann Park— Japanese design on the Fannin Street to the entry gate building, the teahouse today and for side of the garden, allowing access from pavilion and small gazebo. generations to Rice University and the Hermann Park/ Take in all these beautiful improvements on come. Rice U METRORail stop. your next visit to the Japanese Garden! continued on page 3 hermannpark.org PARKSIDE / FALL 2017 DONORS letter from the president letter from Historic Clubhouse – A stroll through the Japanese Garden is a Japanese organizations and have formed Lott Hall at Hermann Park unique Hermann Park experience. While special friendships among them—making $250,000–$499,999 working together that long possible! The Cullen Foundation we celebrate the restoration project $25,000–$49,999 completed in the last year for the 25th DS: And it has developed into a very special Lucia Benton friendship with the Conservancy, the City anniversary, much of the restoration has John Bradshaw, Jr. – In memory of of Houston and the Japanese community. John Bradshaw been happening over the last 10 years— You personally have logged countless hours $1,000–$4,999 overseen by the Japanese Garden volunteering in the Japanese Garden. Steppie and Robert Holsclaw Advisory Committee. Composed of Any special memories? $100–$499 Anonymous members of the Japanese community, KM: Since I was not an expert on Japanese Gardens, I spent a lot of time educating In honor of Phoebe Tudor cultural and business groups, this Dorothy and Mickey Ables myself —reading books and visiting gardens committee has met monthly to ensure Chinhui and Eddie Allen in Japan and understanding that the original Holly and Austin Alvis the garden remains true to traditional design of the garden by Nakajima-san was Nancy Ames and Danny Ward Japanese style and supports the annual a specific response to the Texas landscape Natalye Appel and John Casbarian and climate—not a re-creation of an existing Jana and Scotty Arnoldy visit of the team from Japan. At the helm Theresa and Evans Attwell garden in Japan. I volunteered to translate of the committee, is retired businessman Jay Baker for the Japan team during their visits, but I Gina and Devinder Bhatia Kunio Minami, who has chaired the never imagined I’d be working so closely with Gloria and Jesse Bounds group since its formation in 2006 and has the team in the garden. They taught me the Kathleen A. Boyd Catherine Bradley since become an unexpected expert special knots and I personally built much of the bamboo fence around the teahouse! I found Kristy and Chris Bradshaw in Japanese gardens. Ting and John Bresnahan it fun to watch the Japan team work on the Lindsey Brown construction and meticulous stone placement Peter H. Brown DS: How did Hermann Park become the in the dry stream garden alongside the Christy and Tom Compson home of the Japanese Garden? American contractors that worked on the Susie and Sanford Criner project. They learned from each other. Jennifer and Jon Daly KM: Former Consul-General of Japan Like you say, Doreen-san, it was quite an Isabel and Danny David Hori approached the Japanese Business Viviana and David Denechaud international effort! Association with a proposition to build a Valerie and Tracy Dieterich Laurie and Scott Dorfman Japanese Garden in Hermann Park back in DS: What do you look forward to for the Milane Duncan-Frantz the late 80s. Among the Japanese community, Japanese Garden’s future? Annie and Campbell Eifler there were many positive reactions to the KM: The end of construction in a place like this Luis J. Elizondo-Thomson idea as the Japanese people were very active doesn’t mean it is done—we have to continue Cece and Mack Fowler culturally here and wanted to share their Stephanie and Clinton Fox to plan for maintenance. New features are not Ellie and Michael Francisco culture. Houston had been developing a the end, it is just the beginning. Maybe one relationship with Chiba City, its sister city, Ann and J. Kent Friedman day we can bring a gardener from Japan to Morgan and Patrick Garvey and the two governments agreed to invest work full-time in the garden to oversee the Cyndy Garza-Roberts and $250,000 each. Raising the balance of the work. I have enjoyed explaining our work to Thomas Roberts private funds was split 50/50 between the the many American visitors who stop by to ask Jennifer and Josh Gravenor Saundria and Jerome Gray ocal Japanese and American communities— questions. The features of the garden should a unique arrangement at the time. Christina and Mark Hanson be treated as if they are a museum—that Leisa Holland-Nelson DS: How did you become involved? would be my fondest dream—for the garden Christine and Gregg Hollenberg to serve as a museum educating the guests on Steppie and Robert Holsclaw KM: It wasn’t until 2003 when I retired and its cultural significance. Linda and Barry Hunsaker was asked to form the Japan Association of Linda and George Kelly Greater Houston that I heard the voices of the Ann Kennedy and Geoffrey Walker Japanese community here in Houston with I hope on your next visit to the Japanese Christopher Lykes Knapp concerns about the state of the Japanese Jenny C. Ko Garden you will take a moment to reflect Elyse Lanier Garden. I took those complaints very seriously on the dedication and friendship that Sam Lasseter and Dillon Kyle and wanted to do something about it. So I Kathy and Tom Lord called a collective meeting between Japanese enables it to thrive. Or follow Minimi-san’s Marley Lott organizations and this was the starting point of lead and come volunteer in the garden Susan and David Lummis a new project and formation of the Japanese Nancy Manderson on one of our regular workdays! The Rebecca Mark-Jusbasche and Garden Advisory Committee. deep international friendships we share Michael Jusbasche DS: The group has been instrumental in Jackie and Malcolm Mazow through our work in the garden manifest Devin and Ryan McCord supporting the annual visit of the Japan itself in the serene beauty of the garden Anne and John Mendelsohn team each year. Did you ever think the Roslyn and Derrick Mitchell Japanese Garden Advisory Committee itself. Terrylin G. Neale would still be meeting after 10 years? H. Joe Nelson III See you in the Park, Kathleen O’Reilly and Kyle D. Smith KM: The key to the future of the Japanese Precious and Ore Owodunni Garden is keeping the Japanese Garden Roz and Alan Pactor Advisory Committee together. This garden Erin and Adrian Patterson is so special because we’ve gotten the Alisa and Gary Porter opportunity to work with people across many Doreen Stoller, President Nancy Kate and Mark Prescott Carol and Dan Price 2 DONORS HERMANN PARK CONSERVANCY Dean Putterman Karen and Ken Redding Kim and Chris Reichert Family Carolyn and James Robertson Mary and Brian Rollins David Enrique Ruiz Jon Sanfelippo Shavonnah Roberts Schreiber and Joseph Schreiber Barbara and Louis Sklar Ed Smith Rachel and Sebastien Solar Cassie B. Stinson Patrick Summers Y. Ping Sun and David Leebron Texas Medical Center Allison and Troy Thacker Claire and Rick Thielke Michele Thompson and Bob Yekovich Gary Tinterow and Christopher Gardner Kim and Dan Tutcher Vermillion Family Support for the Japanese Garden was presented to the Conservancy at the 2017 Japan Festival. Pictured are Bill Weiland and Glen Gondo of the Japan America Society of Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Gabriel Durham of Hermann Park Conservancy, Beth and Joe Weikerth and Taichi Nagino of the Japan Business Association of Houston.