Stephen Morrell - Zen and the Japanese Garden Aesthetic

MHG Meetings

Sponsored By: Metro Hort Group

Stephen Morrell

Zen and the Japanese Garden Aesthetic

For more than a century, American artists, gardeners, and landscape designers have been inspired by the beauty, simplicity, and underlying philosophy of Japanese gardens. Stephen’s lecture focuses on the influence of Zen in the development of this highly artistic garden tradition. He will explore the aesthetic characteristics and design dynamics that inform the Zen garden and reveal its underlying spiritual foundation.

Stephen Morrell is principal of Contemplative Landscapes, Chester, CT, and the director of the John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden, Mill Neck, NY, a Preservation Project of the Garden Conservancy. He has designed Japanese-inspired gardens for both private and public clients, including gardens for a Frank Lloyd Wright house in Rye, NY, and Zen gardens for the Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, NY, and at Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, for which he received the 1996 Green Dove Award from Common Boundary.