Yume Japanese Gardens, a quiet oasis in Midtown Tucson, will reopen early next year as part of the Tucson Botanical Gardens a block to the north, the organizations announced in a joint news release Wednesday.
Yume was founded in 2011 by Patricia Deridder in the old home of conservation nonprofit Native Seeds/SEARCH at 2130 N. Alvernon Way. The two-thirds-acre grounds are home to seven Kyoto-style Japanese courtyard gardens, which include a bamboo garden, a dry river garden and a koi pond, as well as a museum, art gallery and bookstore.
“With great care and respect, we are committed to preserving its spirit and ensuring it remains a place of inspiration and serenity for generations to come,” said Tucson Botanical Gardens President Michelle Conklin in a prepared statement.
Yume is closed for its yearly summer hiatus but will remain shuttered until early 2026, after Tucson Botanical Gardens completes renovations in the space, the organization’s marketing director Laura Leach said.
Deridder will continue to serve on Yume’s advisory board, according to the news release. In a statement, Deridder said she was “very happy” about the acquisition.
“I believe they will honor its original spirit while enhancing and carrying it forward with the sensitivity and reverence it deserves,” she said.
Yume has had a difficult few years since the pandemic, which curtailed its regular stream of visitors. In February 2022, Deridder told the Sentinel the garden was still struggling to recover. The previous fall, a drunk driver plowed into Yume’s front gate, and extreme weather and infrastructure issues in the years that followed amounted to costly expenses for the nonprofit, according to fundraising emails.
The garden will become part of the five-and-a-half acre Tucson Botanical Gardens campus, located at 2150 N. Alvernon Way since 1974.