US exhibition at garden expo focuses on agriculture and cross-cultural connection

The Union County Garden of the U.S. at the 15th China (Wenzhou) International Garden Expo, scheduled to open from April to July in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, takes an approach different from traditional displays. It turns away from iconic monuments and instead focuses on crops and agriculture, highlighting everyday connections between people and nature.

The photo shows the Union County Garden of the U.S. at the 15th China (Wenzhou) International Garden Expo, scheduled to open from April to July in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

Co-created by faculty and students from Wenzhou-Kean University, the garden features corn, pumpkins, and beans, drawing on agricultural landscapes from both the U.S. and Wenzhou.

A timber pavilion serves as the focal point of the garden. It draws inspiration from simple wooden cabins in U.S. national parks while incorporating a modern minimalist design. The structure provides a place for visitors to sit and experience nature more directly, reflecting a design approach that shifts away from landmark-style architecture and focuses instead on everyday human interaction with the natural environment.

On both sides of the pavilion, grid-pattern plots showcase crops as part of the garden design. The display highlights farming practices in both countries, aimed to resonate with visitors from different cultural backgrounds through a shared, everyday experience.

The garden, which draws on the image of an American farm, is more than a landscape feature within the expo. It uses agricultural crops to emphasize connections between cultures through food and farming.