After lunch at the Chuckwagon, we went up to Bellingham to do some shopping, then took Chuckanut Drive back down to the Mount Vernon area. Along Chuckanut, near the town of Bow, is what used to be Karma Place Japanese Garden. Something happened between now and the last time I was there in 2006, because the place is totally different.
I knew something was up when we pulled in. The sign read “Chuckanut Garden” and the parking lot was empty. They used to to charge you $2 to go in, and you’d get a bag of food for the koi. There wasn’t even anyone there to take our money, let alone give us koi food.
I wonder what the koi have been eating. The water was disgusting too. The new owners are really letting this place slip, which is unfortunate since it used to be so cool!
Bonsai were just sitting there uncared-for. One of the secondary buildings at the garden used to house all sorts of bonsai pots and other gardening supplies and decorations. It was empty now.
The waterfall at the far end of the garden was turned off. That explains why the water in the pond was so dirty. Water needs to move in order stay clean, and the source of the movement was supposed to be the waterfall!
If you squint your eyes, maybe you can imagine the garden in better times. When I first came here maybe 10 years ago, it was legit enough to actually bring Japanese friends to. Now I’d be embarrassed. The gift shop at the garden used to sell the usual trinkets, plus classier hand painted tea cups and stuff like that. But what’s really cool is that they used to even sell hanga, or Japanese wood block prints, up in the $500-$600 range. They weren’t originals from the 1800s or anything, but they were still real, not like the offset-printed ones you can get at bookstores. That kind of stuff is super hard to find outside of big cities with sizable Japanese populations.
The chashitsu, or teahouse, was still standing, which surprised me since the rest of the garden was in such disrepair. Still, it looked pretty dilapidated compared to the last time I saw it five years ago. This is where I proposed to my wife, but I wouldn’t have done it here now. SO SAD!
Walking down the path past the chashitsu wasn’t too horrible…
…But through the bamboo grove to the left, you can see a machiai, or waiting bench. Behind the machiai a section of the bamboo wall has actually fallen down, leaving a gap that leads to the neighboring farmland!
Once I saw random chickens wandering around the garden, I knew it was time to go. If I had the time and money, I’d buy the garden and restore it. This place deserves better.
.:Bohan
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