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10. The Garden as a Refuge
- Hong Kong University Press, HKU
- Chapter
- Additional Information
In May 1938 Sirén wrote to Jean Buhot that his garden was “becoming more and more a pet child” and that he was “endeavoring to bring it into harmony with Eastern ideals.”1 He had plenty of material to draw from in designing a garden with ‘Eastern’ inspiration. He had enthusiastically photographed Chinese and Japanese gardens during his four voyages, so he did not need to rely solely on his memories. Though a selection of these photographs had appeared in The Imperial Palaces of Peking and the fourth volume of A History of Early Chinese Art (dedicated to architecture), a vast amount remained in his desk drawers. When Sirén set out to design the garden, he did not have an overall plan in mind. The garden had instead grown little by little.2 He emphasized that when setting out to design a garden, one ought to know the conditions of the area designated for it: the movements of the winds, the flow of water, and which plants and trees belong to it naturally. His landscape was barren rocky hill with twisted pines. He thought it was reminiscent of Japan, but he also drew from his experiences in Chinese gardens, particularly in Suzhou (Figure 27). Rocks were plenty then, but the creation of ponds and other waterworks demanded some innovative thought and experimentation. When they had begun to dig in front of the house, two spacious basins on the rock base had been discovered and these had not demanded too substantial an effort to be turned into ponds with water lilies. It had been more difficult to introduce the element of flowing water to a place which did not have a natural source of water, such as a spring. Cascading or streaming water is, after all, an important element in an East Asian garden. After some trials with artificial constructions, Sirén decided that a better way was to resort to fantasy, to create an impression of water currents by using available features in the landscape. Thus part of the rocky ground was cleared and cleaned, exposing the striated surface of the rock, which had been formed when the glaciers of the Ice Age glided over these shores: an image of the swirl of 10 The Garden as a Refuge 146 Enchanted by Lohans water was petrified there forever. Trees were mainly evergreens, pines, junipers, and dwarf spruces. To offset this greenery apple trees provided a spring feast of white and pinkish blossoms—a similar effect in East Asia would be bestowed by plum or cherry trees. Flowering plants were found in abundance, and the list Sirén provided is long; among those mentioned are peonies, azaleas, fuchsias, gentianas, different varieties of the dianthus family, white creeping thyme, brass buttons, and so forth. Some of the plants had originated in East Asian countries and had by the early twentieth century become an integral part of the common repertoire in Nordic gardens. The Siréns called their verandah with its tiled roof and latticed balustrades their “Summer Palace.” From the verandah one could gaze over the ponds, which were framed by rocks arranged to form miniature mountain scenery. Behind them Sirén had created a small shrine for a statue of a Buddha. In addition, a Japanese stone lantern and a Japanese-style gate embellished the garden. The gate was assembled together from pine trunks: two straight on the sides and a curving one topping them. The lantern had been acquired from Japan with the help of Nomura Yôzô; he Figure 27 Sirén’s garden at Lidingö, photograph by Sirén 1934, from photo album in Art History, Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies, University of Helsinki [44.201.96.213] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 08:35 GMT) The Garden as a Refuge 147 gave detailed advice on its correct placement after Sirén sent him a few pictures of the garden: I have taken the liberty of marking A & B. That stone piece should be placed where marked B, turned upside down or reverted, showing the pattern of lotus carved there, between the lighting place and cylindrical post. The whole thing should rest on the lowest base half hidden and buried in the ground just as it is. Then, I am sure that the lantern will look splendid and stand there as a sentinel to your sublime garden, throwing all around the light of truth and spiritual guidance.3 Nomura also promised to send Sir...