Japanese Ambience

The intertwining of nature, art and Japanese culture was showcased at Lauritzen Gardens this weekend in Omaha. Their Autumn/Japanese Ambience Festival was a joy to be a part of. The Omaha Botanical Gardens are currently trying to raise enough funds for the second phase of their Japanese Garden. At the site of the Japanese garden, there was taiko drumming, sake tasting, calligraphy and origami. I was a partaker in the sake tasting and was pleasantly surprised by the expertise of the pourer. The bees were swarming us trying to get a taste of the sweet rice wine as we discussed the different subtleties of the sake. The surroundings this weekend were inspirational.

The gardens were kind enough to let myself and Kim Williams display our trees. I brought a Koto Hime Japanese maple, Shimpaku juniper and a Japanese Flowering Apricot. Kim brought a nice Ginkgo and a blue-needled Chamaecyparis. I believe our display generated some interest and I plan to contact all of those who left their information with me in hopes of meeting.