PO
Box 4864
Boulder, CO 80306
USA
Tel:
+1.303.440.6283
info@boulder-dushanbe.org
|
|
PO
Box 4864 |
About BDSC: The Teahouse Rose Garden
|
Join Back to About Us |
The Choihona's (teahouse) gardens were the result of extraordinary efforts of the Boulder Valley Rose Society and the Boulder Garden Club. Their members donated much time and expertise, in addition to some of the plantings and bedding materials, before the Teahouse opened its doors in May of 1998. The Koranic garden is no wilderness theme park; its inhabitants recline on couches, cushions, and carpets (and) have every kind of food and drink, the flesh of fowls and purified winery…It is the abode of good feelings. - "Images of Paradise in Islamic Art," p.15 |
|
Mikl said that although it was difficult to determine what species are actually found in Central Asia, his research led him to believe that among the varieties represented at the teahouse the following have family members in or around Dushanbe: Persian Yellow, the orange-yellow shrub Austrian Copper, the light pink small shrub rosa haemisphaerica, and deep magenta-colored Rose de Rescht, which is an Old Garden Rose known for its especially sweet fragrance. Boulder xeriscape architect Jim Knopf was also key to developing the gardens. A member of the Boulder Garden Club and working closely with then BGC President Mary Kirk Stewart and other BGC members including June Homes and Jeannette George, Jim created the plant list for non-rose plantings. It is believed that the world's first planned gardens were in Iran as early as the Sixth Century B.C. A garden surrounded the tomb of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae in what is now southern Iran. Throughout the centuries gardens, roses and other flowers have been praised by poets of the The Middle East and Central Asia. In the Koran, paradise is a garden. Some of the Teahouse roses climb up the pergolas. The closer one walks towards the entrance the higher the roses should reach. The effect is walking down a corridor of fragrance and color before entering the building and experiencing its own colorful floral motifs of its art. Roses have long been associated with Tajik and Persian culture. The great poets of that part of the world, such as Omar Khayyam, Saadi, and Hafez, frequently allude to the rose, and carpet designers and other artisans often include the rose in their designs. In addition, rosewater is a common perfume and condiment in south and central Asia. The Teahouse chefs have been known to garnish some Persian dishes such as his khoresht-e-bademjan (Iranian eggplant stew) with fresh rose petals from the teahouse rose garden for an extra Oriental touch. Among the non-rose plantings are several herbs, which grow under the roses, and other plants including Sea Buckhorn, several species of tulips, crocuses, ornamental onions, foxtail lilies, Fireweed, juniperus communis, and potentilla fruticosa (shrubby potentilla). All of these are native in Colorado, and Tajikistan, according to Jim. Vegetal motifs are found in most examples of Islamic art. More than 90% of all Oriental carpet designs, for example, portray a garden, either abstract or representational. Here the wisteria is found in one of the outside panels of the teahouse Two of the plantings currently conquering the pergolas-wild grape and clematis tanguitica, also can be found in Tajik gardens and canyons. Other plants on their way up the Teahouse arbors are another species of climatis, porcelain vine, and American wisteria. Coincidentally, the spiraled cone-shaped plant motifs in the ceramic panels on the two sides of the choihona represent a kind of wisteria. Adding to the outdoor ambiance of the choihona is a canal branch of Boulder Creek, which rushes past the south end of the choihona, adding another very Tajik touch to the setting. In the ideal setting for a Persian picnic, as expressed in Khayyam's "a jug of wine (fun), a loaf of bread (food), and thou (companionship)", the other components are a tree (shade, comfort) and a stream (nature's bounty, refreshment). The trees are engaged in ritual prayer and the birds in singing the litany, the violet is bent down in prostration. - Sufi poet Rumi The bridge and the creekside Teahouse Trail round out the features outside of the Tahouse. Visiting Tajik artist Kodir Rakhimov and Boulder artist Aprylisa Snyder created the ceramic mythical Tajik birds on the bridge. Aprylisa created the lovely Omar Khayyam quatrains set into the walk in both Persian and English. She copied the text from a book, enlarged it, and then it was sandblasted into the rock by 20/20 Communications, who donated high-quality sand-blasting at cost. The bridge decks were conceived as flying carpets to symbolize the "magical" journey one takes when going from one culture to the other, according to Apylisa.. The red carpets are fringed with tile on either end, embellished with bird motifs created by Tajik ceramicist Victor Zabolotnikov. - written by BDSC member George Peknik
|
|
|
The Boulder Teahouse Garden is one of several gardens along Boulder Creek and its branches. Others you may wish to explore include:
|
|
|
|
Copyright
2006-2007, Boulder-Dushanbe Sister Cities, Inc. |
