June 7, 2024
Power of Dauer Illuminates Gresham Japanese Garden’s Cherry Blossoms
Brightening Lives and Restoring Traditions at Main City Park in Oregon
Across the U.S., ornamental cherry blossoms reached their second-earliest peak bloom on record, gracing neighborhoods and parks in late March including Main City Park, in Gresham, Oregon. The vivid blooming trees, admired around the world for their feathery clusters of white and pink flowers, are common in East Asia, particularly in Japan, where they have been cultivated and now producing several varieties.
At Main City Park’s Ebetsu Plaza, Dauer Manufacturing illuminated the Gresham Japanese Garden and its matured cherry blossoms first planted in 2017 by local mayor and dignitaries from Ebetsu, Japan. Revitalizing a nature center and capturing community delight, Gresham Japanese Garden Cherry Blossoms at Ebetsu Plaza made its debut on March 30, with the trees illuminated with a ‘Cherry Blossom Glow’ thanks to the new system of lights designed and installed with the Power of Dauer.
Getting Started
The four-decade old Japanese garden and nature center on Tsuru Island sits inside 21 acres of Main City Park, in Gresham, Oregon. It was rebirthed in 2011 by now retired landscape company owner James Card of James Card Outdoor Environments, along with Tomiko Takeuchi, and countless volunteers that make up the Friends of the Gresham Japanese Garden, including Dauer’s national sales director, Tom Rowe, a decade-long plus volunteer, and business associate for nearly 20 years.
After years of a marshy plot of land located steps away from the Tsuru Island Japanese Garden that was unusable due to gravel beneath the dirt, in the fall of 2017 Ebetsu Plaza opened. The constructed new space was named in honor of the 40th anniversary of Gresham’s sister-city pact with Ebetsu, city in Hokkaido, Japan.
Orchestrating the Lighting Design
Delving into a deep understanding of the landscape for the three-quarters of an acre Japanese garden and beyond, in true Dauer tradition a complete picture was designed from a blank canvas to maximize the lighting design. Consideration was given to a combination of needs including depth, shadows, wattage, color temperatures, beam spreads, transformer capacity, wiring and more to create an optimal lighting experience from arrival, throughout pathways, and at the spectacular viewing areas within the nature center, including the soon to be revealed cherry blossoms.
Illuminating Cherry Blossom Trees
Considering the color of the cherry blossom trees and the need to be so brilliant, almost looking artificial, a strong enough uplight was needed. Enters Dauer’s new Bodacious Integrated LED Uplights with tempered glass lens housed in cast brass. The selection of 5000K lumens presented a pure white lighting experience against the nightfall using 20W, 40W total from two sides.
To fulfill that level of lightness, the distance from the light to the transformer was placed at about 100 feet, calculating voltage drop for that distance. The lighting needs were unique in that a long distance to the lighting area was needed for plenty of kelvin.
Mini Aluminum Mini Floods with 5000k and 2365 lumens were utilized for each tree. To power the lights a Dauer 600-watt power center was utilized. The distance for 3 (three) is 150 plus feet and a 12/2 cable @ 20v was incorporated. From the same power center, the team powered 5 (five) more trees with a distance of 100 plus feet, with 2 (two) lights each tree of the same part number using 8 gauge cable at 16V.
A 100-degree beam spread illuminated the cherry blossoms throughout the three-week blooming season from dusk to midnight. On a separate 300-watt power center we powered lights for 4 more trees at 2, 20w lights each using 8 gauge cable at 13V again at 100 plus feet. With the same power center, we also powered 8 Islander 27 lumens and a Biltmore 489940, 544lm.
Yoshikura – Cherry Blossoms at Night and New Beginnings
The reveal from dusk to midnight, with Japanese entertainment and tea for those camped to enjoy the lighting of the cherry blossoms, marked the onset of the three-week blooming season and lighting experience, while establishing the calendar date to plan and adjust for the following year and years to come.
Cherry blossoms represent rebirth, renewal, new beginnings, and that’s exactly what transpired at Ebetsu Plaza and throughout Main City Park powered by Dauer.
While 24 Bodacious shined a glorious glow on 12 blooming cherry blossoms at the Ebetsu Plaza, 8 step lights introduced the experience, with a collective 90 newly installed fixtures lighting the garden’s entire shrubbery and plants across 10 acres with the Power of Dauer.
Photo credit: Christopher Keizur, The Outlook Newspaper
