In addition to saunas, yoga classes and massage treatments, Bow Sanctuary on Chuckanut Drive is known for its tranquil, Japanese-inspired gardens. But while the wellness center is a newer addition to Skagit County, the gardens are nearly three decades old — and their design came to creator Deymian LeSar in a dream.
“I think what was most unusual is that I don’t dream,” said LeSar, who lived on the property at the time. “And this was such a vivid dream, and it included a pond and a Japanese tea house.”
LeSar had “always been fascinated with Japan,” but when she started building the gardens in 1996, she hadn’t yet been able to visit. So LeSar did the next best thing: She brought “a little piece of Japan” to Skagit County.
When building the garden, LeSar did much of the work herself and enlisted help from an ornamental horticulturist, Hans Wressnigg. LeSar’s husband pitched in with setting stones, and his former employee helped build the tea house.
“The only thing we could find [for guidance] was a mock tea house at the Seattle Art Museum,” LeSar said. “So we went there and tried to make measurements, and we kept setting off the alarms.”
The finished garden included a koi pond, waterfall, footbridge and bamboo grove. LeSar opened Karma Place Japanese Garden & Nursery around 1998, selling items like kimonos, antiques and gifts.
“We did all sorts of Japanese classes,” she said. “We had classes on bonsai, Japanese maples. We had a whole bamboo nursery for many, many years too.”
LeSar said the early 2000s were Karma Place’s peak years. After its closure, the property was home to everything from a Japanese cafe to a dispensary and even a wedding venue — but LeSar was “so happy” when Bow Sanctuary’s founders eventually bought it.
“It’s back in the right hands,” she said.
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Cocoa Laney is CDN’s lifestyle editor; reach her at cocoalaney@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 128.
