Buffalo gardener brings Japan to West Side

By Sean Brock and Ally Rotundo
Bengal News West Reporters

            To the average person, the work done at the Japanese Garden of Delaware Park consists of raking, planting, and weeding. For Abi Echevarria the work means so much more.

             Echevarria, senior zone gardener of the Japanese Garden, has worked at the Olmsted Parks Conservancy for nearly a decade. He has even spent an extensive amount of time in Japan learning the proper ways to care for and maintain the gardens.

              “For me it’s just another day, it’s all a part of the job description,” said Echevarria.

Echevarria on his role with the Japanese Garden:

A normal day for Echevarria begins early in the morning, walking the garden, looking for trash and debris, and will lead into the care of the plants, trees and soil that take up the majority of his day.

“You’re really doing similar things most days. You have to have a passion for this. It’s something I take pride in,” said Echevarria.

The Japanese Garden at Delaware Park are a distinctive piece of Japanese culture that have become a symbol of friendship between Buffalo and its sister city in Japan.

            The friendship between Buffalo and the city of Kanazawa began nearly 50 years ago in 1962, the bond became stronger when Kanazawa planned to build a Japanese Garden for Buffalo in the early 1970s as a gift to show a  lasting bond to Buffalo.

Completed in 1974, the garden is modeled after one of the most popular gardens in Japan, Kenrokuen Garden. 

During the late 1980s to early 1990s the gardens were neglected by the City of Buffalo, becoming known as place for trash and debris.

“It wasn’t that long ago that the parks were in a bad place,” said Echevarria. “People in Buffalo forgot what the gardens were really about for a while.”

In 1994 the Japanese Garden group along with then Mayor Anthony Masiello, submitted a grant proposal to redesign the garden’s landscape.

As the garden continued to improve over the next decade, care for the park was turned over to the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy in 2004.

During this time the conservancy put into place new methods of maintenance. Focusing on creating a stronger relationship with its sister city, the gardens began sending workers to Kanazawa for proper training to make strong improvements to the landscape of the gardens.

When the Olmsted Parks Conservancy asked Echevarria to be one of the first to travel to Japan, it was an easy choice. 

            “When the friends of the Japanese Garden offered a trip to Japan for us to get cross trained with the original landscapers, I was honored,” said Echevarria. “On that trip I really began to understand the importance these gardens have around the world, the planning and effort that is put into each one.”

While on his trip, Echevarria met with many of the leaders in the field.

“I learned from the original creators of the garden and it put it into more of a perspective. I could see their long term vision for the garden,” Echevarria said.

The creators taught Echevarria many things that he now uses in his garden.

“When I went to Japan they told me that their landscapers can’t touch any hand tools for their first five years,” said Echevarria. “We don’t go to that extreme, but we make sure our workers have a good grasp of what they are doing before they get hands on in the garden.”

Echevarria said that he has regular contact with the gardeners  in Japan through email and phone conversations.

“I stay in contact with the friends of the Japanese Garden and they have talked about sending me back eventually. They taught me to always be looking to improve the gardens, to always keep working,” said Echevarria.

Echevarria said that his trips to Japan have improved his quality of work.  

  “This is my playground," Echevarris said. "To be able to do what I love and do it at higher level because of my experiences in Japan is a great feeling.”