I do love autumn.
Vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows paint the landscape like
one huge work of art.
Deciduous trees
are trees that lose their leaves for the winter. Do you know why their leaves
change colour in autumn?
During the growing season, leaves use a chemical called chlorophyll to create their own food (a
kind of sugar called glucose) from
sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. This process is called photosynthesis. It’s chlorophyll that
makes leaves look green.
When the trees rest during the winter, their leaves lose
chlorophyll, and we see yellow and orange colours instead. Traces of glucose
left behind in maple leaves turn them red
as the weather gets colder.
Maples are the national tree of Canada. The beautiful red
maple leaf has been an important symbol to Canadians for many generations, and
the heart of Canada’s national flag since 1965.
(I tried posing with these maple leaves, but my roommate
Audrey kept getting her silly head in the picture.)
Autumn is a beautiful season in Japan, too. I felt like I
had travelled to Japan when I recently visited the Nitobe Memorial Garden, at
Vancouver’s University of British Columbia.
The Nitobe Memorial Garden is a traditional Japanese garden.
It is named after a great diplomat, teacher, writer, and
economist named Nitobe Inazo. Dr.
Nitobe was born in Morioka, Japan in 1862, and died in Victoria, British
Columbia in 1933.
The garden opened in 1960. It was carefully planned by a
landscape architect named Kannosuke Mori,
who came to Vancouver from Chiba University in Japan.
Although it only covers one hectare, the garden is a rich
treasure where you can stroll, think, and appreciate nature.
This small lake was specially dug in the forest. It is home
to colourful carp from Japan. I tried looking for some … and noticed a
gorgeous red insect instead!
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The earth dug out to make the lake was used to build a small hill
nearby.
Professor Mori used rocks from B.C.’s Harrison Lake to
create this pretty waterfall and creek.
Water flows through Nitobe Garden from east to west, as is
traditional. It flows out of the lake through a garden of irises in the west.
A zig-zag bridge crosses the iris garden. It is called the Yatsu-Hashi bridge. This crooked bridge
is meant to confuse demons and spirits, who apparently can only walk in straight
lines. The Yatsu-Hashi bridge would be a safe place to walk next week, on
Hallowe’en!
There are many stone lanterns scattered along the winding
paths. The lanterns stand for light chasing away darkness. Where paths cross,
lanterns represent the choices we can make in life.
This is the Nitobe
Memorial Lantern:
Here is the Nitobe
family crest lantern, made of stone brought all the way from Morioka:
There’s a small lantern on an island in the middle of the
lake. It’s called the snow viewing
lantern. The island is shaped like a turtle, a traditional symbol of
immortality.
The 77-log bridge
has a seven-storey pagoda at one end:
Nearby, this memorial
stone records Dr. Nitobe’s hope that he might serve as a bridge across the
Pacific Ocean:
As a representative of Japan on the League of Nations (a
fore-runner of the United Nations) in the 1920s, he did that very well.
At the other end of the 77-log bridge, you can sit in a
pretty shelter called the family viewing
pavilion:
This is called the marriage
lantern:
Next to the main garden is a traditional Japanese Tea House
and Zen garden. Zen is a philosophy
that helps you find peace and enlightenment through meditation.
Ooh, Audrey really makes me want to feel more Zen sometimes
(but I love her anyway).
Now of course, if you live south of Earth’s equator, this is
springtime. The Nitobe Memorial
Garden will be gorgeous in Vancouver’s springtime, too.
The garden closes for the winter on November 1st,
and re-opens next April 1st. If you visit Nitobe Memorial Garden next
spring, you’ll be welcomed by the colours of springtime blossoms instead of
autumn leaves.
Story © S. Clouthier
Nitobe Tea House courtesy Presley Perswain / Flickr
Other photos © S. Clouthier and D. Wei
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