Ashland Japanese Garden: ‘Silence, beauty, tranquility and spiritual renewal’

People line up at the door to the Ashland Japanese Garden during its opening in October 2022. Ashland.news photo by Holly Dillemuth
October 23, 2022

After redesign and years of work, Lithia Park retreat reopened to the public on Saturday

By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news

Two onlookers peek through the door of the Ashland Japanese Garden prior to its opening Saturday afternoon. Ashland.news photo by Holly Dillemuth

A healing oasis, covered by a lush and colorful fall canopy, awaits visitors at Lithia Park’s new, improved, authentic Ashland Japanese Garden.

Rain drops couldn’t dampen the jubilant mood Saturday as more than 2,000 people walked through the gates of the Ashland Japanese Garden to celebrate its reopening.

Michael Black, director of Ashland Parks & Recreation, took Ashland.news through a tour of the enclosed gardens — there are six total — and talked about the process of reconstruction over the past two years, building on a concept in the works for the past seven years, and the beautiful outcome unveiled Saturday. 

Ashland.news photo by Holly Dillemuth

The $1.6 million garden renovation was funded primarily by $1.3 million from Jeff Mangin, a member of the Parks Foundation, and the family of his late wife, Béatrice Marechal, in Normandy, France, as well as other donors. The city of Ashland provided donations of  in-kind labor but no cash, according to Black. Toru Tanaka, former director of the Portland Japanese Garden, designed and helped build the space.

Mangin honored his late wife during the reopening ceremony Saturday.

Jeff Mangin walks through the gardens on Saturday prior to the opening ceremony. Ashland.news photo by Holly Dillemuth

“My hope is that it can be a special place, a place of silence, beauty, tranquility and spiritual renewal for those that visit,” Mangin told the crowd. 

Mangin pointed out that the Kanji characters on the front entrance to the garden translate to “healing.”

“She would be happy to know we have created a healing garden in Ashland,” Mangin said, his voice breaking. “I hope it will be for everyone that passes through these gates.”

Mangin also emphasized that the garden is a space for all who call Ashland home and is welcoming to all visitors.

“We chose the name, Ashland Japanese Garden, for a reason,” he said, “because it belongs to the whole community. It is our garden and it will always be that way.”

Toru Tanaka, landscape architect and former director of the Portland Japanese Garden from 1988-1991, pauses for a photograph in the gardens prior to its opening on Saturday. Ashland.news photo by Holly Dillemuth

Mike Gardiner, a former longtimeAPRC Commissioner and member of the Parks Foundation, as well as Rick Landt, current APRC chair, and Black welcomed the community into the gates.

Prior to the reopening, Black led Ashland.news on a tour of the grounds.

“You start off with the natural garden and then you come up to a bamboo garden,” Black said. “And then over here, we’ve got some pines and maples, the creek and the pond together and then the sand and stone garden, or Zen garden.

The statue of a mythical creature resembling a frog guards the gardens inside Ashland Japanese Garden. Ashland.news photo by Holly Dillemuth

“We’re just really excited for everyone to see it,” he added.

Koi fish are planned for the pond in the spring.

Mangin and Black worked together starting in 2015 on the process to find a designer to redesign the garden and also worked with the Southern Oregon Japanese Association to make the space as culturally appropriate as possible.

“In order to build the garden, we had to do some digging up of some existing infrastructure and there some trees in here that had to go as a result of that,” Black said. 

Black said the biggest issue that came up with the redesign was whether to remove two large Douglas Firs, but pointed out they remain standing tall in the garden today.

Michael Black, director of the Ashland Parks & Recreation, talks about the lengthy process that went into the garden redesign and remodeling. Ashland.news photo by Holly Dillemuth

“They’re here and they’re part of the garden, as we love ’em,” Black said.

The trails, creek and drainage from the previous garden had to be replaced. 

“A lot of the vegetation wasn’t doing so great,” Black said. “To make change, we had to take out some of those things. But as you look around, you can see … the most dominant thing in the garden are the big trees that were here before.”

“To get a garden that was truly a healing garden, we had to create something that didn’t inspire animosity within people,” Black added. “So we compromised on several things and that’s how we got to where we are.”

Visitors appeared thrilled with the space, and lined up in the rain throughout the afternoon to see it up close. 

Vincent and Myrna Haynes of Ashland admire the newly opened Japanese Garden on Saturday. Ashland.news photo by Holly Dillemuth

Among them were Vincent and Myrna Haynes of Ashland. The couple used to show off the former garden to guests when they were in town.  

“We saw the old and now we see the new,” said Vincent, who snapped photos of the pond at the bottom of the gardens. 

His wife, Myrna Haynes, joined him. Both glowed at the opening. They remember the garden as it was when they arrived in Ashland in 2010 but both beamed at the redesign. 

“I love the whole thing,” she said.

“It’s all awesome,” Vincent added.

The Ashland Japanese Garden is currently free to all visitors and open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information, go to the garden’s new website at ashlandjapanesegarden.org.

Reach Ashland.news reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].

A boulder-strewn water feature at the Ashland Japanese Garden. Ashland.news photo by Holly Dillemuth
Picture of Bert Etling

Bert Etling

Bert Etling is the executive editor of Ashland.news. Email him at [email protected].

Related Posts...

‘Do No Harm, Be a Good Neighbor’: Community event on immigration Monday

The Ashland Sunrise Project is hosting an opportunity for community members to learn about current immigration issues and how to be in solidarity with those potentially impacted by the changing political climate on immigration. The event, titled “How To Do No Harm and Be a Good Neighbor,” is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (RVUUF), 87 4th St., Ashland.

Read More »

Our Sponsors

Klamath Bird Observatory Experience the wonders of Souteast Brazil Ashland Oregon
Conscious Design Build Ashland Oregon
Pronto Printing Ashland Medford Southern Oregon

Latest posts

Ask Strider: The fire outside

Ask Strider: A reader wants to know why a dog advice column is taking up space when the world is on fire. And another reader asks if Strider is prepared for a fire on his home turf. As usual, our Dog About Town does the best he can to pour water on the flames of anxiety.

Read More >

‘Do No Harm, Be a Good Neighbor’: Community event on immigration Monday

The Ashland Sunrise Project is hosting an opportunity for community members to learn about current immigration issues and how to be in solidarity with those potentially impacted by the changing political climate on immigration. The event, titled “How To Do No Harm and Be a Good Neighbor,” is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (RVUUF), 87 4th St., Ashland.

Read More >

Obituary: Eliane Viner

Obituary: Eliane A. Mueller Trapp Viner, 86, died on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024 — on her own terms and surrounded by loved ones — in Medford, Oregon, after three months of hospice care. A celebration of life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 1, in Ashland, Oregon, and online.

Read More >

Our Sponsors

City of Ashland Public Notice Ashland Oregon
Ashland Parks and Recreation Ashland Oregon
Ashland.news House Ad

Explore More...

Last week's extended stretch of snowy weather tested Ashland's capacity to offer the unhoused shelter out of the storm. With just 14 sleeping spots available at the city's shelter, other organizations opened additional spaces, and the city temporarily raised its capacity due to emergency conditions.
The Ashland Sunrise Project is hosting an opportunity for community members to learn about current immigration issues and how to be in solidarity with those potentially impacted by the changing political climate on immigration. The event, titled “How To Do No Harm and Be a Good Neighbor,” is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, at Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (RVUUF), 87 4th St., Ashland.
Two weeks after its first February meeting was canceled due to unsafe road conditions due to snow, the Ashland City Council takes up business Tuesday, Feb. 17, it had expected to handle on Feb. 4. Its Feb. 3 study session, however, which was also canceled, is still pending as Monday, Feb. 17, was Presidents Day.
Family, community members and longtime friends of Medford native Bill Thorndike Jr. were collectively at a loss for words over the weekend at the sudden loss of a man they say had a hand in nearly anything good to happen in Southern Oregon for much of the past half-century. Thorndike, 71, suffered a heart attack early Saturday morning, just following a Valentine’s Day spent with his wife, Angela Thorndike, at a family cabin on Whidbey Island in Washington’s Puget Sound.
About 150 people rallied on Ashland Plaza on Monday, part of a series of nationwide protests on Presidents Day, most organized by the 50501 Movement, which stands for "50 protests. 50 states. 1 movement," in a response to what organizers describe as "the anti-democratic and illegal actions of the Trump administration."
ashland.news logo

Subscribe to the newsletter and get local news sent directly to your inbox.

(It’s free)

Don't Miss Our Top Stories

Get our newsletter delivered to your inbox three times a week.
It’s FREE and you can cancel anytime.