LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville’s Waterfront Botanical Gardens will be home to a new authentic Japanese garden sometime next year.
The Botanical Gardens received $1.5 million in state funds from the state’s 2022 fiscal year budget to prepare the grounds for the two-acre Japanese garden. The project is set to begin later this year.
The funds are currently being used to create a construction access road to keep heavy equipment off the garden’s main driveway. It’s also being used to create a new pipe system to help with drainage on the site of the former landfill.
“This is a perfect example where the state invests funds to ensure the groundwork is laid, literally, for the future growth of a tremendous cultural asset,” Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers said.
The project is being designed by renowned Japanese garden landscape designer Shiro Nakane.
Once complete, the garden will include a traditional Japanese tea house designed to introduce one of Japan’s most prestigious and symbolic rituals: the Japanese tea ceremony. It will also feature a waterfall, lake, stream and bonsai garden.
According to a press release, the project should be completed by Japanese craftsmen 15-18 months after construction begins in late 2022.
Metro Council President David James said he’s thrilled to have this “beautiful community asset right here in Louisville.”
“This is not only a project that is driving tourism, but also one that is culturally important to the entire commonwealth,” James said.
For more information about the Waterfront Botanical Gardens or the upcoming Japanese garden installation, please click here.
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