Yuko-En on the Elkhorn
Encyclopedia
Georgetown, Kentucky
Georgetown is a city in Scott County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 29,098 at the 2010 census. The original settlement of Lebanon, founded by Rev. Elijah Craig, was renamed in 1790 in honor of President George Washington. It is the home of Georgetown College, a private liberal arts...
on the north fork of Elkhorn Creek
Elkhorn Creek
Elkhorn Creek is an stream running through several counties in central Kentucky in the United States. It derives its name from the shape, as seen on a map, of its main stem with its two primary forks....
. The 6 acres (24,281.2 m²) garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
is designed to have the appearance of a Japanese style strolling garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
.
History
The community Japanese Friendship GardenJapanese Friendship Garden
Japanese Friendship Garden is used to describe many gardens including:*Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego, California*Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose, California*Ro Ho En in Phoenix, Arizona...
was built in 2000 as a project between the local citizens of Georgetown and the citizens of Georgetown's sister city, Tahara
Tahara, Aichi
is a city located in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. As of August 2011, the city had an estimated population of 63,886 and a population density of 338 persons per km². The total area was 188.81 km².-Geography:...
in Japan. Local landscape architects Steve Austin and Jeff Singer helped design and build the garden, incorporating the Bluegrass
Bluegrass region
The Bluegrass Region is a geographic region in the state of Kentucky, United States. It occupies the northern part of the state and since European settlement has contained a majority of the state's population and its largest cities....
landscape with the features of a Japanese strolling garden. The Kentucky legislature designated Yuko-En on the Elkhorn, the "Official" Kentucky-Japan friendship garden.
Features
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
with plants and landform
Landform
A landform or physical feature in the earth sciences and geology sub-fields, comprises a geomorphological unit, and is largely defined by its surface form and location in the landscape, as part of the terrain, and as such, is typically an element of topography...
s native to Japan and Kentucky. The site's flat land was converted with 1400 truckloads of earth into gentle rising hills with gravel paths and arched bridges leading through a water garden
Water garden
Water gardens, also known as aquatic gardens, are a type of man-made water feature. A water garden is defined as any interior or exterior landscape or architectural element whose primarily purpose is to house, display, or propagate a particular species or variety of aquatic plant...
, a Zen rock garden, and past the banks of Elkhorn Creek.
The Tokugawa Gates at the entrance to the garden depict the Tokugawa Shogunate era in the form of Medieval European castle gates. A zigzag path leads into the garden through a patch of native cane.
Koi pond
Koi ponds are ponds used for holding koi, usually as part of a landscape. Koi ponds can be designed specifically to promote health and growth of the Nishkigoi or Japanese Ornamental Carp....
is the central feature of the garden. Above the koi pond is the Upper Waterfall and Mountain. This feature depicts limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s along Elkhorn creek with the cone shaped mountains representing the island of Yakushima
Yakushima
, one of the Ōsumi Islands, is an island of about 500 km² and roughly 15,000 islanders to the south of Kyūshū in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The Vincennes Strait separates it from Tanegashima. The highest point on the island is Miyanoura-dake at 1,935 metres...
, where streams flow down the mountain. The Kazan Sculpture/Tahara Waterfall Garden area has a sculpture of a young Watanabe Kazan
Watanabe Kazan
was a Japanese painter, scholar and statesman member of the samurai class.- Early life :He was born Watanabe Sadayasu in Edo to a poor samurai family, and his artistic talent was developed from an early age. His family served the lord of the Tahara Domain, located in present day Aichi prefecture....
, a Japanese painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, scholar and statesman.
Nara, Nara
is the capital city of Nara Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. The city occupies the northern part of Nara Prefecture, directly bordering Kyoto Prefecture...
. The Zen rock garden, best seen from the Elkhorn Viewing Pavilion, has patterns created by local volunteers. The Arched Bridge, painted Japanese red, goes over a dry rock stream that represents streams flow down volcanic peaks in Japan.