A Japanese-Inspired Pop-Up Garden Is Coming to the Harborwalk
Photo provided by the Trustees
Fourteen acres of a Japanese-inspired garden on Martha’s Vineyard are being squeezed into a spot along the Harborwalk this week.
Well, not literally. An urban interpretation of Chappaquiddick’s Mytoi Gardens will arrive in the form of a pop-up at Boston Children’s Wharf Park on August 6. The garden is being transported to Boston thanks to the Trustees, the nonprofit land conservation organization that operates the original Mytoi Gardens as well as more than 100 other public gardens and landscapes around Massachusetts.
Both Mytoi Gardens and the Mytoi pop-up are meant to be peaceful places of contemplation. They include non-native and native flowers and plants, as well as a footpath and a stone garden area. The 450-square-foot installation is complete with a reflecting pool featuring interactive koi, bamboo groves, and the iconic Mytoi bridge. Designed by landscape architect Rob Barella, the tiny garden upholds Barella’s ideal of integrating art into landscapes.
Mytoi Gardens is the second pop-up to inhabit the space near the Children’s Museum following last month’s installation of a Crane Beach pop-up. The installations are part of a new Trustees initiative to create temporary, outdoor spaces modeled after the organization’s most iconic properties. The pop-up project is funded by the Highland Street Foundation and the Helen and William Mazer Foundation.
“While it is of course ideal to visit and see our properties in their full glory, we hope that Boston residents can take a break out of their day and visit Mytoi, virtually, even for a few minutes,” Trustees president and CEO Barbara Erickson said in a statement.
“As part of our 125th Anniversary year, we see these the pop-ups as a way to inspire more people to get out of the city with family and friends this summer and explore some of our beautifully preserved gardens, beaches, campgrounds, historic homes, farms, hiking trails and more,” she said.
The Trustees has other pop-ups in the works. The organization plans to have free programs to complement installations twice a week at each site. The Mytoi pop-up has a few hands-on activities planned, including mindfulness meditation yoga, storytelling, origami, and bonsai classes.
The Mytoi Gardens pop-up installation will take place from August 6 through 18 at Boston Children’s Wharf Park along the Harborwalk. For more information, see thetrustees.org.
Rendering provided by the Trustees
