A Tea Garden in Tivoli: American Garden Design Inspired by the Japanese Way of Tea

Mueller (The World in a Bowl of Tea) uses her experience creating a Japanese tea garden in Tivoli, N.Y., to teach others how to do the same, in this bare-bones guide. The author goes light on practical tips, instead focusing broadly on key elements of the tea garden and how to make and serve tea. The book is divided into three sections: “Garden” highlights Mueller’s challenges with her own garden and the process of creating a garden path. “Tea” describes the practice of serving tea in the Japanese tradition, and how the ceremony is designed to arouse all five human senses, beginning with the feeling of stones underfoot on the path. “Flower Arranging” uses guidelines adapted from those published by the Urasenke Foundation, an organization dedicated to Japanese Cultural Heritage in America, to guide readers on how to gather and arrange chabana (tea flowers) in a natural way. The how-to element is light throughout, but with more than 200 photographs that highlight Mueller’s own garden and others she has toured, the book provides visual inspiration to gardeners and Zen enthusiasts. Color photos. [em](BookLife) [/em]