The Garden as Teacher Series - Anderson Japanese Gardens

The Garden as Teacher

A Nature-Based Wellness Series

A nature-based wellness series that pairs creative garden projects with intentional reflection. Each experience blends horticultural creativity with conversation, journaling, and a guided meditation. You’ll explore practices that strengthen resilience, deepen presence, and support lasting well being. Participants leave with both meaningful creation and a sustainable inner practice.

Kokedama (Moss Ball) Experience | Being Grateful

Slow down, get your hands in the soil, and reconnect with nature by creating Kokedama, a centuries old tradition of planting flowers in a moss ball. In Kokedama (Moss Ball) Experience: Being Grateful, you’ll explore the science and soul of gratitude while creating a living moss ball that becomes a lasting reminder of balance, care, and resilience. Through meaningful discussion, journaling, and a gentle guided meditation, you’ll learn how gratitude improves well-being, strengthens emotional resilience, and brings calm into everyday life. You’ll leave with your handmade Kokedama and a simple daily gratitude practice to help this experience continue growing long after the class ends.

Saturday, May 2, 2026

9:30 AM – 11:00 AM | 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

$35 MEMBER | $40 NON-MEMBER | Pre-Registration Required | Limited Spaces Available

Wabi-Sabi Photography Experience | Seeing Beauty

Step into the Garden and slow your pace in our Wabi-Sabi Photography Experience: Seeing Beauty, a mindful exploration of imperfection and presence. Guided by the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, you’ll learn to see beauty without striving for perfection, capturing just one meaningful photograph with your cell phone during a quiet, intentional walk. Through reflection, journaling, and a gentle guided meditation, this experience invites you to notice what’s often overlooked and to recognize beauty exactly as it is, in the world and within yourself. You’ll leave with a printed copy of your photograph and a simple daily practice that will help you carry this way of seeing into everyday life.

Saturday, August 8, 2026

9:30 AM – 11:00 AM | 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

$15 MEMBER | $20 NON-MEMBER | Pre-Registration Required | Limited Spaces Available

Seasonal Wreath Experience | Letting Go

Slow down and reconnect with the rhythm of the season by creating a wreath, a timeless symbol of change, wholeness, and renewal. In the Seasonal Wreath Experience: Letting Go, you’ll explore acceptance and release while working with natural, seasonal materials gathered at their moment of transition. Through hands-on creation, gentle reflection, and a guided meditation, you’ll learn how letting go can reduce stress, increase emotional flexibility, and create space for growth. You’ll leave with your handmade wreath, and a simple daily letting go practice carrying this sense of ease and renewal into everyday life.

Saturday, November 7, 2026

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

$35 MEMBER | $40 NON-MEMBER | Pre-Registration Required | Limited Spaces Available