THE PURE REALM GARDEN OF MT. POTALAKA
BOULDER, CO
An imagined mountain realm made tangible through garden
The Pure Realm Garden of Mount Potalaka is a meditation garden inspired by Mount Potalaka, the mythical realm of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. The garden translates a landscape described in the client's Fudaraku-san-en treatise into a contemporary stroll-style karesansui garden, using local stone, landform and plants to create an environment for contemplation.
The design draws from two distinct sources. The first is the client's detailed written description of Mount Potalaka and the Potala Palace, providing the garden's poetic and spiritual foundation. The second is Mirei Shigemori's Kagawa Residence Garden, whose strong stone placements, flowing landforms and secluded coves provide a physical reference for the garden's composition. These influences are brought together not as a recreation of either place, but as a new landscape shaped by the character of the site and the experience of moving through it.
The sunny, windswept character of the Front Range rocky slopes informed the native vegetation and structure of the garden. Salvaged ponderosa pines from forest-thinning projects on BLM land establish a strong connection to the surrounding landscape, while recycled stone materials anchor the garden physically to its region. Flowing landforms create a sequence of openings, passages and quiet coves, allowing the garden to unfold gradually as it is walked and raked. A restrained gravel composition provides a ground plane for stone and planting, while changes in elevation and enclosure create moments of pause and contemplation.
Native and adaptive plants form the structural layer of the garden, with a diverse matrix of flowering groundcovers occupying gravel and stone crevices. The planting brings seasonal change and habitat into an otherwise restrained composition, allowing the garden to shift continually with light, weather and growth. The resulting landscape is rooted in the ecology of its Colorado setting while carrying the contemplative character of its sources.
The garden is intended to be experienced slowly and from multiple perspectives. From a picture window inside the home, the composition becomes a living scene of stone, planting and landform. Along the street, an intentional opening in the fence offers neighbors a glimpse into the garden, inviting them to share in its sense of beauty and discovery. For the client, the ongoing nurturing and raking of the garden are themselves part of a contemplative practice, extending the garden's purpose into its daily care.
The garden was a finalist in the City of Boulder's 2026 Climate Resilient Landscape Showcase.
Dobro Design
Landscape Architecture · Garden Design · Planting · Hands-on Construction · Stewardship
Project Team
TMW Stonemasons · Tree of Life Landscaping