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Dan Pearson and Midori Shintani: Tokachi Millennium Forest
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Dan Pearson and Midori Shintani: Tokachi Millennium Forest

Introduction to the Tokachi Millennium Forest

Welcome and Event Overview

  • Barbara Corcoran introduces the lecture featuring Dan Pearson and Midori Shintani, discussing their book on the Tokachi Millennium Forest.
  • The event is a global gathering with participants from various time zones, highlighting its international significance.
  • Audience engagement is encouraged through chat comments and Q&A features, enhancing interaction during the presentation.

Speakers' Background

  • Dan Pearson is recognized as a prominent designer and gardener with a long-standing relationship with The New York Botanical Garden.
  • Midori Shintani has extensive training in horticulture and landscape design, serving as Head Gardener at Tokachi Millennium Farms since 2008.

The Vision Behind Tokachi Millennium Forest

Project Origins

  • Dan Pearson shares insights about the Millennium Forest project initiated in the 1990s by Mr. Hyashi to offset his newspaper business's environmental impact.
  • The involvement of Dan Pearson Studio began in 2000, aiming to capture the essence of this unique location through a published work.

Ecological Significance

  • The forest serves as a model for sustainable land use over an extended timeframe, emphasizing our connection to nature amid modern disconnection.
  • Hokkaido's geographical context is described, noting its rich yet altered landscape due to human activity since colonization in the late 1800s.

Design Philosophy and Educational Goals

Landscape Preservation

  • The project aims to preserve Hokkaido's natural beauty while addressing historical ecological damage caused by agriculture and logging practices.

Long-term Vision

  • A vision for sustainability over a millennium includes educating visitors about their relationship with nature, fostering deeper connections to landscapes.

Nature Connection and Rewilding Efforts

Overview of the Landscape

  • The speaker discusses the importance of gardens in creating a connection with nature, emphasizing their role in bridging human-made landscapes with wild environments.
  • Observations reveal agricultural practices eroding natural landscapes, particularly in the plains, while forestry efforts are replacing original oak trees with shorter crops.
  • The Hidaka mountains represent a wild landscape rich in biodiversity, including bears and original flora, which the project aims to integrate into more developed areas.

Seasonal Dynamics

  • Winter is highlighted as a significant season that shapes the landscape; it lasts from late October to early November and can reach temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius.
  • The transition from winter to spring is described as a "concertina growing season," where rapid growth occurs after snow melt.

Cultural Context: Satoyama

  • The concept of Satoyama is introduced, representing a harmonious relationship between people and land where resources are used sustainably.
  • Visual representation shows crops near buildings surrounded by forests that are gently harvested for materials, illustrating sustainable living practices.

Nature Worship and Spirituality

  • Japanese culture's reverence for nature is discussed, particularly through animism—acknowledging spiritual presence in natural objects.
  • Boulders are noted for their significance; Mr. Hayashi emphasizes their profound presence and connection to the mountain's power.

Forest Management Techniques

  • Midori’s woodland management focuses on allowing urban dwellers to reconnect with nature through careful forest stewardship.
  • A master plan outlines pathways connecting intimate garden spaces with larger landscapes, promoting exploration of both managed and wild areas.

Restoration Challenges

  • Bamboo (Sasa), an invasive species, has overtaken native vegetation; however, innovative management techniques show promise for restoring biodiversity over time.
  • By trimming Sasa during its short growing season, indigenous plants can gradually re-emerge from the soil seed bank through gentle management practices.

Exploring the Interplay of Nature and Design

The Beauty of Foraging and Native Plants

  • The forest is rich with diverse plant life, including edible species known to cultures like the Inuit and Japanese. This highlights the importance of understanding local ecosystems.
  • Notable plants mentioned include Cardiocrinums, Aruncus, Aconites, Lilies, Hostas, Arisaemas, and Aquilegias—each contributing to the unique texture and form of the landscape.

Designing for Engagement with Landscape

  • A significant project involved transforming a 20-acre field into a more engaging landscape that reconnects visitors with their surroundings through design principles inspired by Shakkei (borrowed scenery).
  • The design included rolling landforms that encourage exploration; children are particularly drawn to these playful mounds, leading adults to follow them into nature.

Sensory Experiences in Landscape Architecture

  • Different shapes in the landscape create varied acoustic experiences: convex shapes capture sounds from streams while concave shapes provide stillness from mountains. This sensory engagement helps ground visitors in their environment.
  • Familiarity with certain plants enhances comfort for visitors; productive gardens near buildings allow people to connect with food sources they may only recognize from stores.

Cultivating Community Through Gardens

  • The layout includes various gardens around communal spaces such as cafes and goat farms, fostering interaction between people and nature while providing educational opportunities about agriculture.
  • A small rose garden serves as an accessible entry point for those who might find wilder areas overwhelming but still appreciate traditional gardening aesthetics.

Seasonal Changes and Nature Tables

  • Midori's nature tables showcase seasonal changes every five days based on Japan's 72 seasons concept, allowing intimate observation of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and wild plants throughout the year. This encourages mindfulness about natural cycles.

Integrating Wildness into Horticulture

  • The Meadow Garden combines native Japanese plants with Western varieties in a naturalistic manner that reflects forest floor dynamics; this approach invites appreciation for both cultivated and wild flora equally.
  • By blending different plant types seamlessly within landscapes, visitors can develop a new perspective on horticulture that embraces wildness alongside cultivation practices.

Garden Design and Immersion in Nature

Creating an Immersive Garden Experience

  • The garden is designed to be self-sustaining, featuring a main pathway that connects various elements of nature, including forests and mountains. This layout aims to create a cool and damp atmosphere on one side while transitioning to higher, drier areas with brighter colors as you move left.
  • The immersive experience is central to the garden's design; visitors are encouraged to feel lost in an enhanced version of nature, walking along narrow paths reminiscent of animal tracks through woodlands. This design fosters a deep connection with the environment.
  • Distinct color fields within the garden transition from green and white hues at the forest edge to vibrant pinks and indigos in the center, culminating in hotter colors separated by bands of Calamagrostis grasses. This dynamic palette reflects seasonal changes and plant interactions.
  • An explosion of nectar-producing plants creates a lively ecosystem where Swallowtail Butterflies gather in clouds, surprising visitors with their presence. This kinetic aspect emphasizes the garden's ever-changing nature as different plant combinations bloom over time.
  • The design mimics a forest floor's layered structure, allowing for natural succession among plants while incorporating striking features like the River of Yarrow (Achillea Coronation Gold) that flows through distinct color zones, enhancing immersion for visitors.

Collaboration and Adaptation in Garden Management

  • Midori plays a crucial role in managing the Millennium Forest by observing daily changes and maintaining balance between native flora and cultivated perennials, ensuring that gardening practices reflect natural ecosystems. Her insights guide ongoing adjustments within the garden space.
  • Annual workshops between Midori and Mr. Hayashi allow for gentle steering of garden development based on observations from previous years; this collaborative approach acknowledges that gardens are never truly finished but evolve continuously over time.
  • Significant events like typhoons can dramatically alter garden dynamics; after such occurrences, adaptations are necessary to accommodate new growth patterns resulting from environmental shifts—highlighting resilience as key to successful gardening practices.
  • The goal is for visitors to perceive nature through well-tended spaces that foster appreciation for larger ecological systems while experiencing beauty firsthand during seasonal transitions like autumn when preparations for spring begin swiftly thereafter.
Video description

The Tokachi Millennium Forest on Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, is an ecological project with a 1,000-year sustainable vision. Celebrated landscape designer Dan Pearson contributed to the master plan with a sweeping Meadow Garden mixing colorful ornamentals with natives, and a wavelike Earth Garden echoing the mountains beyond. Under the skillful custodianship of head gardener Midori Shintani, Tokachi has evolved to reflect principles at the heart of Japanese culture: observation of seasonal changes, practical tasks performed with care, and the interconnectedness of all living things. Using breathtaking images from their new book, Tokachi Millennium Forest, Pearson and Shintani reveal this remarkable project that bridges East and West and embodies naturalistic gardening at its most inspiring. Dan Pearson is renowned worldwide as a designer, horticulturist, and gardener. His many accolades include Honorary Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects and five award-winning Chelsea Flower Show gardens, including a 2015 Gold Medal and Best in Show. Midori Shintani trained in horticulture and landscape architecture at Minami Kyushu University. Since 2008 she has been head gardener of Tokachi Millennium Forest, merging “new Japanese horticulture” into wild nature.