Tsuru Island
Each month this segment has
been about people working
behind the scenes. This month isabout something that happened"Behind the Scenes", I did not see
it coming.
Have you ever had one of thoselife things that happen out of
nowhere? Sometimes it issomething that you wished for orwanted/needed. When it
happened...WOW, star spangled
banner, fireworks, a feeling of; didthat just happen, and pinch me.
In 2011, I wrote a “master plan”
document for the garden in order
to explain what the garden shouldbe about and that it was intended
to be a platform for learning,healing and opportunities. One
day the group of Gresham HighSchool students we now call, Kaz
Kids came with their teacher andstaff. (Go to our website,
greshamsistercity.org to learn
more about these kids or readsome of the previous newsletters).
Many days would end with myfeeling that we did not reachanyone. When the students
graduate most do not come backto volunteer but may come with
their families to visit from time totime.
ISSUE #7

On the last day of school I wasinvited to GHS to join in a
department get together and havea snack and sit with the KAZ KIDS
and their families to view a slide
show of the past year for them atGHS. The seniors were not there,
they had already graduated. As I
was getting ready to leave theparents of Nathaniel, a senior,came and asked if I was Mr. Jim.
They had a question, "could
Nathaniel continue to come to thegarden to volunteer even though
he was no longer at the highschool?” Sometime ago he had
mentioned to me that he wanted tocontinue coming in the summer. I
had not paid attention to thatstatement. I now understand thathe has enjoyed his time and it is
one of the few places that he is notdealing with that internal emotionthat he experiences. So; he can put
away the Kaz Kids yellow shirt andput on the black volunteer shirt.
This is one of those goals I had set
out wanting to accomplish at thebeginning.

Getting the Word Out

Sometimes we hear people
say, “I didn’t know Gresham
had a Japanese garden!” or"when did this get here?".
To help get the word out an
informational display will beusedtogetpeople'sattention. Our own City Hallwill have the display first andprogress to other locations
that people come and go on
an ongoing basis.
Thedisplay will also be seen inlibraries, banks, post offices
and so on. We recently
designed a tri-fold brochure
andhavefound
thatbusiness cards are a mustfor people to reference.
These along with our framed
posters to spread the news
so many more can enjoy thisbeautiful feature in Gresham.

Questions / Comments to:
gresham.japanese.garden@gmail.com

JUNE 2016

June 30th 2016 completes the5th year of the adoption of Tsuru
Island garden. This spring has
been amazing for the garden in
more ways than expected colors.
New growth is on every plant andsome of the growth includes thenew fruits coming onto theplants for fall color. Whenlooking at the list ofaccomplishments over those
years, seeing something like"building the bridge" reminds usof how many volunteer hours
were given and how many
months it took to accomplish thetask. Five years...think what will
happen in 10 years. One of thethings that will happen ismaturity of the garden and ourunderstanding of how to foster it
for what we will leave behind in30, 40 and 50 years for thecommunity that follows us. One
gets a glimpse of the maturity ofsome of the plant materials bylooking at the plants that wereoriginal to the first garden 42years ago. You are not looking
for how tall or wide but thetraining of the shrubs, trees, vineor ground cover. How well wehave done to make it perform as
we intended throughobservation, pruning, generalcare and the roll that it plays withthe rest of the garden. Rightalong with this perspective wewill also be watching through theyears how we place and groomed
the plant materials in reference
to the other surrounding plantmaterials and the textures, size,
colors and shapes as they blend
together.
ISSUE #7

After five years we have just finishedthe start. Now our goals include thefostering of the garden, that gemthat all of us have worked so hard to
make one of a kind, special, andsomething everyone can choose toenjoy in some way. We hope to do
this by establishing the endowmentthat along with volunteer programs
we can establish available monies
to allow for the garden to be given
the care and attention that it willneed. The "garden endowment"
program will be established with theassistance of the board and othervolunteers, over the next few years.
It is necessary so that thedeterioration of the garden over thepast 42 years does not happen
again. Sadafumi Uchiyama told
Tomiko and I in the first 90 days of
our journey that "if they like what
they see, they will follow". I can only
hope our job has accomplished thatsentiment.

Mark the calendar for July 16th
2016, 10am to 4 pm, at Tsuru Island

This is also the completion of our5th year fostering the Gresham
Japanese Garden.
Volunteers and their families areinvited to attend. The garden will beclosed off to the public for this event.
Some of the day's events will include:
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Dedication of the Azumaya.
A drawing with prizes.
Lunch
Tea ceremonies with Grace
Ishikawa.
Koto presentations by Mitsuki
Dazai.
Bonsai demonstrations by MarkVossbrink.
A lecture and tour of the garden.
Tea and Coffee at the closing ofthe day.

There are dozens of volunteers engaged,donors participating, and our Cities
unwavering support for our programs inthe garden. Almost 13,000 volunteer
hours have been accumulated over thepast 5 years.
These are some opportunities to serve.
A chain link fence installation aroundthe Resource Center- Replace the lawn for the emergency
path in front of the Resource Center- Install an additional irrigation mainline from the horseshoe area leading
to the Resource Center- Place Banners on posts at the park

JUNE 2016

Peoplehavesuggestedusing
placards to identify the plantings in
the garden and some information
about them.
The reason thatplacards are not used is because thisis not a botanical garden, but rather aJapanese garden that has an entirely
different approach to education andthe plant materials. We asked forassistance to take pictures of ourgarden plantings with the intention of
having a way of introducing the plants
to our volunteers and visitors, using
technology while in the garden. Bill
Peterson, Sue Hughes and I (JimCard) came up with a whole newapproach. Beginning with the July
issue of the Tsuru Island newsletteran introduction of two or three plant
examples in and around the garden
will be featured. These will eventuallyappear on the website and in a folder.
Bill has taken a wide angle and closeup picture of specific plants and has
captured the exact setting the photo
was taken. Photo cards will be able tonot only tell what the plant is butwhere it came from, size that it waswhen planted, and if it was adonation or a grant. Potentially photo
albums can be made up to be giftedor sold as gifts and greeting cards
which can be a considered as a fundraiser for the garden. Bill has provide
the title “Tsuru Island, Gresham
Japanese Garden” on the photos sothat it is copyright protected.
Looking back over 5 years or 10 yearsof the photo library one can see thechange in the plant maturity, growth,pruning and in general, changes thathave been made to the area. Thesepictures are being kept in a physicalalbum and in a "master data base".

ISSUE #7

The photos can also be used for
future exercises and games to findthe plant like a scavenger hunt. This
will be a fun and/or educational
event for the KAZ KIDS and othersin the community.

During my tour I learned several
things about the garden andhere are a few:
- The garden is part of a muchbigger venue and is very
accessible. Signs present “stayon the path”- Admission is free. The garden
is open from 9am until 6 pm
and because of the weather inMinnesota, it is only open from
May to September.

Como Park Japanese Garden in
St. Paul, MN
During a recent trip to Minnesota
we had a chance to visit Como
Park, in St. Paul containing athree acre Japanese Garden.
This is the second garden at thislocation for much the same
reason that Tsuru Island garden
needed to be replaced. The firstgarden was built in about 1904
right after the "World’s Fair” in
St. Louis. The garden at theWorld’s Fair was being
disassembled and six stonelanterns were donated to theComo Japanese Garden; four ofthe original lanterns still exist in
this garden today. Nagasaki is
the sister city to St. Paul and in1979 the City of Nagasaki gavea garden design as a gift for thenew garden by the designer
Masami Matsuda. Those
involved could not follow thedrawings and had to ask Mr.
Matsuda to come to the statesto interpret what he wasintending. During the next 12years a total of 8.5 million
dollars was raised for thecompletion of the garden which
took place in 1991.

- A 16th century Japanese farmhouse was duplicated in the tea
garden section and is available
for tea ceremonies every twoweeks, by a sign up list, firstcome first serve- During the day, the volunteer
staff is available to control andinform. The newer volunteers
have note books with answers tooften asked questions.
- A fine indoor and outdoor
bonsai display is present withexcellent tables for display (seethe pictures).
- The garden is wheel chair
accessible- Pathways are all gravel andhave the same problem as wedid with loose gravel rollingaround.
- Pruning is done by aesthetic
pruning people coming in fromout of state, some teaching isdone with the garden staff.
- All plant materials need to be
Minnesota hardy.
It was enjoyable and fascinating
to stroll along and view thepeaceful beauty.
Written by James Card

JUNE 2016

Tsuru Island over thePast 5 years
 Study of the island and developed adesign Raised funds and gather support byTomiko Adopted by GSCA (Gresham SisterCity Association)
 Partnered with COG (City ofGresham), erosion grant Removed 150 cubic yards of debris
from the garden areas
 Joined NAJGA (North AmericanJapanese Garden Association),
attendance at 3 conferences,
Tomiko, Jim and Katey
 Willow tree removal, some woodrecycled into the garden by COG
 Installed a drainage system tocontrol standing water and run off
 Design and constructed a steam bed,Wendy, Ron and Jim
 Bamboo fencing and tie systeminstalled 29 boulders found throughout
Gresham, moved by COG andCampbell Crane and placed onto theisland.
 700 ft. of PVC pipe placed 10 irrigation valves installed New main waterline under theISSUE #7

 bridge to the island installed Sprinkler system materials secured
and installed timer, wiring andlaterals Electricity to the island installed byCOG
 Shrubs planted
 Blue stone pathway designed andinstalled at the garden by Ty Card
 Installed retainers in pathway sides
by Tad and others Built 2 foot bridges, recycled COG
materials used
 Bridge inspection, gifted by PCEngineering Purchased Purple Heart lumber,stainless steel hardware, and 9"
diameter posts, designed
calligraphy and carving
 Machined, sub-assembled and final
assembly and dedication
 Pavilion plans purchased, materials
donated by Carl Diebold Lumber,materials machined, assembled,
roofing purchased and installed Water basin areas moved, details
and pump system added
 Control signage for the garden
entrance areas installed, donated byCOG
 Designed and built garden entrance
sign of recycled wood Signage for the garden interiorpurchased and installed Banners for the park light poles
designed and purchased by Janet
Lee and Katey Card.
 Gifted the Resource Center usageby COG
 Gifted the greenhouse, Toni andBarry Busse Trees donated by Toni and BarryBusse Wi-Fi in garden and Resource
center by COG with 24 hour
surveillance available
 Bark dusted garden areas
 Paver walkway for Resource
Center recycled COG pavers used
 Computer and printer donation for

the Resource Center by Ron Ture
 Sack Lunch Lectures established andprogram developed by Sue Hughesand Jim
 GESCA website funded anddeveloped including Skosh, Studentexchange program and the garden bySue Hughes and Jim
 Recycled storage cabinets outside
installed from COG
 Remodel of the Resource Center
inside including clean up, window
replacements, curtains, window
casings, recycled cabinets from
COG and Tomiko
 Remodel of Resource Centerexterior including, reconstructing theporch by Paul Warr-King, installed
donated railing by G &S Welding,new paint by COG, new roof by
COG, capped newel posts andsupport posts, painted exterior trim
and accent by Paul Warr-King, built
crawl space door by Paul WarrKing, and removed chain linkfencing
 Outdoor lighting donated by Kichler,layout designed and installed by Jim

All photos in this issue taken at Como ParkJapanese Garden, St. Paul, MN

JUNE 2016