Japanese Garden Volunteers

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Want to have a serene yet fulfilling volunteer opportunity? Then come to the newly renovated Japanese Garden in Hermann Park to volunteer your time to maintain this jewel in the middle of Houston’s premier regional Park.

The Japanese Garden was built in 1992, designed by Japanese landscape architect Ken Nakajima. Over the years the Garden slid into a Texas style garden, prompting the Hermann Park Conservancy to engage another renowned landscape architect from Japan, Terunobu Nakai, to advise the gardening team as to the finer details of Japanese style gardens. Utilizing plants appropriate to the Garden as well as to the Houston climate, Mr. Nakai and celebrated landscape gardener Hiroshi Iwasaki in 2007 began their annual visitations to the Garden to assist the park gardeners with the return of the Garden to its Japanese roots. 2016 saw the completion of their 10 th visit to the Garden with the development of the new dry stream garden, mimicking features of a stream, a beach and waterfalls to be accessed via a new entry gate on the Fannin side of the Garden.

The Japanese Garden volunteers assistance with the Garden upkeep: maintaining the paths and entries, keeping the weeds at bay, trimming shrubs and trees in the Japanese style, raking pine needles and mulching shrub beds, deadheading spent blooms, and planting shrubs, plants, and ground cover. You will be working alongside and under the direction of the gardeners-no skill necessary, as the gardeners and volunteer coordinator will train and guide you as you learn about what it takes to maintain this very special space.

Individual volunteers join others each Thursday from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. or 3rd Saturday of each month.

Group volunteers are welcome (less than 40 participants per group) and need to schedule their date ahead of time.

For more information, contact volunteer coordinator at dkerr@hermannpark.org. Please indicate grade level or age range: (middle school) (high school) (college) (adult).