Yume Japanese Gardens of Tucson

Japanese garden design is mostly focused on planting in a way that is seamless with nature. A Japanese garden often evokes peacefulness and tranquility. It’s dreamlike. 

The desire to share her own experiences with Japanese culture is what led garden designer Patricia Deridder to create her dream, her Yume (夢) in Tucson, Arizona, in 2013.

“When I came to the States, I always wanted to transmit the Japanese love of nature, the way they really live with it…it’s a really integral part of their lives.”

In the fifteen years that Patricia lived in Japan, she became intimately acquainted with the Japanese style. She was immediately inspired by the flower arrangements known as Ikebana. She loves the way each arrangement is a representation of nature in one vase.

“To do Japanese flower arrangement you really look at the way the plant or the flower grows and you have to recreate nature in your vase. In a way, you give it a second life, maybe a little cleaner life but it’s a second life.”

Yume Gardens is meant to be a place of respite and Patricia hopes that visitors experience the peaceful nature through the planting designs and the arrangements. For her, being able to connect with the plants she uses in her designs is what inspires her the most.

“That’s what I found the most inspiring about plants and flowers…that you get into their world…”

For more information about Yume Gardens, visit the website.

The Director, Cinematographer, and Editor for this episode is Peter Fuhrman.

Produced by Laura Christian.