Bamboo Observation Tower
Bamboo Observation Tower & Hedgerooms in the East Garden
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Bamboo Observation Tower
The Johnson Atelier had a sand foundry in its early days, but when their sculpting process changed, their sand tower was no longer needed. Always on the lookout for materials to repurpose, the sand tower was re-imagined in 2008 as a "garden in the sky". After its relocation, the top of the hopper was removed, and Dawn Redwood and Japanese Maples along with smaller plants, rocks and moss were situated at the top to complete the landscape nearly 20 feet in the air. The tower can be found on the left of the Eastern Garden, and offers a three-story view of the sculpture garden, best viewed when there is minimal leaf cover.
Hedgerooms
The architectural plan for the Seward Johnson Center for the Arts included an eastern wall made almost entirely of glass, overlooking a series of sculpture exhibition spaces created in 2003 by rows of the evergreen Yew hedges, and creating a natural feature that was an outdoor extension of the building's East Gallery. The distinct spaces which form the hedgerooms overlook a pond that was dug just beyond. These Yew hedges, inspired by those commonly grown in France, ranged from 6' to 10' tall at the time they were planted, and today stand many inches taller.
