Water lilies float gracefully in the pond, which is the focal point
of the garden. Water is a major part of the Japanese-style
garden.
At 11:30 a.m., landscaper Cornelio Franco looks up from the
black pine he has been carefully pruning since 7 a.m. After
spending days and years with each tree, “you feel like a
family in the garden,” he said.
Joseph Ross, Franco, the docents and all the plants make up the
extended family at the UCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden.
Located in Bel Air, the garden displays the meticulous care it
receives from the Facilities Management staff, but few visitors
have taken the time to walk through its gates.
Landscaper Gabriel Aguilera set the standard for the
garden’s upkeep in the late 1950s, when it was built by
landscape architects Nagao Sakurai and Kazuo Nakamura. The
property, sold by Gordon Guiberson to Edward Carter in 1965, was
then donated to UCLA.
The Japanese characters on the entrance to the garden say that
it is intended to “reminds one of Kyoto,” as the garden
was designed with the many gardens of Kyoto in mind.
The garden maintains the Japanese aesthetic throughout. This
type of landscaping includes a pond as the main attraction. Almost
all of the plant species are native to Japan, as are the Koi that
swim in the pond.
Sets of three ““ a major motif in Japanese landscaping
““ are obvious every where, from the islands in the water to
the three main structures.
A triad of the entrance gate, tea house and hokora, or family
shrine, are all visible from a single point in the driveway.
Traditional Japanese gardens are designed asymmetrically, and
this one is no exception. Everything in this slice of Kyoto in Los
Angeles is meant to look natural and unplanned.
Even the garden house is built from weathered Cryptomeria wood
to give the garden an aged feel.
A short but dangerous 20-minute walk along blind, curving Bel
Air street leads visitors to the garden.
It remains a secluded meditation site with limited parking
available by reservation only. The garden remains empty on most
days, though walk-ins are welcome.
The UCLA Hannah Carter Japanese Garden is open Tuesday,
Wednesday and Friday 10 a..m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free. Call in
advance, (310) 824-4574.
Chief Landscaper Joseph Ross meticulously prunes a Japanese black
pine. Pining season at the Japanese garden happens once a year, as
each and every pine receives special care so that its buds can grow
in the spring.
Solid Cryptomerion wood doors invite one into the Japanese garden.
The sign, from an ancient windmill, was dedicated by a priest.
The garden house looms over the small pond, where one of the triads
can be seen. The lighthouse lantern forms a triangle with the two
other rocks that symbolize islands. The house has not been used for
tea ceremonies for a while, but still contains the authentic tatami
mats and other items necessary for the ceremonies.
Koi fish are plentiful in the gardens. One of the many Koi darts
under a growth of water hyacinth in the pond. The hyacinths grow
plentifully at the base of the pond’s waterfall.
A 1,000-year-old statue of the Buddha rests near some bamboo
plants. He holds a lotus flower, which blooms in the garden in June
and July.