De Japanske Haver
Overview
De Japanske Haver is a privately created Japanese garden complex near Broby on the Danish island of Funen. Opened to the public in 2007, the approximately 7,500-square-metre site contains a sequence of interconnected gardens representing several Japanese traditions, including viewing, tea, forest, strolling, water, courtyard, temple and meditation gardens. Lakes, streams, waterfalls, shaped trees, stone compositions and Japanese-style buildings create a varied walk-through landscape intended to introduce Japanese garden culture in Denmark.
History
The project was developed by landscape gardener Peter Dalsgaard and horticultural specialist Anne Dalsgaard. Peter had studied Japanese garden culture for several decades, made numerous journeys to Japan, studied at a university in Kyoto and worked with a Japanese garden designer on traditional garden projects. Anne, who holds advanced qualifications in horticulture and soil science, became involved after visiting Japan in 2003.
The couple purchased the property in March 2000, already intending to transform its conventional lawn, orchard and perennial borders into a Japanese-inspired garden. The decision to open the site commercially was made in autumn 2005, and formal preparations were completed during the following spring.
Most of the initial construction took place between spring 2006 and May 2007. Peter Dalsgaard left his previous employment to work on the project full-time, while Anne contributed alongside her academic work. In June 2006, Peter’s former Japanese employer visited Denmark and advised on the design and construction. More than 800 tonnes of stone were placed during this phase, followed by major planting, fencing, the meditation garden tea house and the larger Japanese-style building now housing the café and shop. The gardens opened on 1 May 2007.
The complex continued to expand after opening. A gate and waiting shelter were added to the strolling garden in 2008, a new entrance followed in 2009, and a Japanese-style building and courtyard garden were completed in 2011. The temple garden opened in 2012, followed by further paths, planting and improvements in subsequent years.
Design features
The garden is organised as a sequence of distinct but connected garden rooms. The Garden of Life follows a stream from its source through waterfalls, calm ponds and converging waterways. The changing movement of water represents successive stages of human life, from birth and childhood to adulthood and eventual passage into eternity.
The Meditation Garden is a dry landscape designed to be viewed from a terrace. Raked white granite represents three abstract rivers converging in a lake, while the adjoining tea house was constructed at traditional scale with sliding doors and tatami-style floor mats.
In the Viewing Garden, visitors circulate around a central pond and encounter repeated elements from changing angles. The Strolling Garden creates what its designers describe as a compressed journey through natural scenery, combining waterfalls, cliffs, streams and woodland impressions drawn from landscapes experienced in several countries.
The Temple Garden uses a restrained Zen-inspired composition intended to encourage inner stillness, while the compact Courtyard Garden, measuring approximately 3.3 square metres, is conceived as a three-dimensional picture framed by the surrounding architecture. A tea garden, forest garden and water garden add further spatial and stylistic variety.
Across the entire complex, more than 5,000 trees and shrubs, approximately 18,800 ground-cover plants and around 900 tonnes of natural stone form the principal materials. Five streams circulate approximately 150,000 litres of water per hour, connecting lakes, waterfalls and koi ponds throughout the garden. Rhododendrons, azaleas, Japanese maples, cherries, camellias, irises and hydrangeas provide seasonal colour.
Garden elements
Bridges
Buildings
Enclosures
Waters and islands
Stones
Other elements
Current status
De Japanske Haver remains operated by the Dalsgaard family as a seasonal garden attraction with a café, shop and plant sales. It continues to be expanded and maintained, and in 2026 is scheduled to open from 1 May to 30 September, subject to weekly closing days during parts of the season.