Maymont would like to congratulate the winners of the Japanese Garden’s 100th Anniversary Photo Contest. More than 1,400 qualified entries were submitted, with honors awarded to the top three images and a people’s choice winner:

Winning images will be displayed in a slideshow during a free public reception at the Crossroads Art Center on Friday, May 18 and can be viewed online at Richmond.com. All 1,400 entries can also be viewed on the contest website through June 15.

Maymont holds special meaning for first place winner Dennis Waterman, who proposed to his wife at the estate. They now visit Maymont often with their two children, and appreciate all that Maymont has blessed them with over the years. Traci Eagle, People’s Choice winner, also has a special connection with Maymont. While undergoing cancer treatment, Traci said that Maymont “was one of the only places I just had to visit, no matter what. Maymont, and especially the Japanese Garden, always have such a healing effect on me. It truly is a special Richmond landmark!” Bruce Yoder echoed the sentiments of the other contest winners, saying “on the rare occasion that I am there alone, the silence and beauty of the garden are like open arms. They welcome and embrace. I am most grateful to everyone who tends to and supports these grounds as a place of hospitality and reflection.”

The Japanese Garden Photo Contest was generously sponsored by Best Buy (Mechanicsville), Frame Nation, Sticky Rice, Cliff Bruce Studio, Richmond.com and Richmond Camera. Judges for the contest were Jay Paul, award-winning photographer; Kelly O’Keefe, President of O’Keefe Brands and Maymont Board Member; and Christina Newton, founder of First Fridays Art Walk and director of its coordinating nonprofit, Curated Culture.

Maymont, a 100-acre estate in Richmond, Virginia, is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Japanese Garden in 2012 with a year-long series of programs and events, including this contest, as well as visits from special guests and new plantings in the garden. James and Sallie Dooley, who lived at Maymont from 1893 to 1925, purchased a wedge-shaped section of the Kanawha Canal that bordered Maymont in 1911. To create their garden, it is believed they hired Muto, a master Japanese gardener who had designed gardens for other estates along the East Coast. Maymont’s original garden encompassed a much smaller area than the one seen today. Several features from the original garden remain including the waterfall and stonework around its base, several trees and the winding watercourse that leads to the large pond. In 1978, the garden was renovated and expanded by Earth Design, Inc. It is now the largest Japanese garden on the east coast, covering approximately 6 acres.

For more information on the Japanese Garden’s anniversary, visit the anniversary web page or call 804-358-7166, ext. 310.

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Hi-res versions of the images below are available. Contact Carla Murray at 804-358-7166, ext. 315.



Dennis Waterman, “Glowing Maple”



Bruce Yoder, “Soft Symmetry”



David Parrish, “At the Falls”



Traci Eagle, “Spring is Here at Maymont!”