(Photos by Ellen Cedergreen for WSB)
Ready to tour the new Knowing the Spring Courtyard at the Seattle Chinese Garden on the campus of South Seattle Community College on Puget Ridge? It’s ready for visitors, Wednesdays-Sundays noon-4:30 pm, after a “soft opening” on Sunday afternoon.

That’s program director Julia Freimund welcoming visitors at the garden’s also still-in-the-formative-stages Discovery Center. More garden photos after the jump:

Those boulders in the courtyard’s southwest corner are among the elements painstakingly placed by the visiting artisans who were here recently to work on the courtyard. Though other phases of the garden are yet to come, you can also see the Plum Pavilion – meant to be glimpsed, we’re told, rather than fully seen from your viewpoint:

The garden is based on Confucius and Taoist principles, with the architecture representing the former, and the plants, the latter:

WSB contributor Ellen Cedergreen reports, “The next phases of the garden will be executed simultaneously, across its 5 acres. Next year will be a year for design and planning, and that is done together with the sister city in China, Chongqing. After that, and after the necessary funds are raised, construction on the remaining buildings will begin. They are very excited about the Floating Clouds Tower which will have amazing views of: the Olympics, Cascades, Elliott Bay, and will be visible from afar. There will also be a tea-house serving up Chinese teas and a few desserts.” Renderings are on display in the Discovery Center:

To help make it come true, fundraising bricks are on sale:

You can find out more about the bricks here. Again, the garden is open at the north end of the SSCC campus (6000 16th SW) this winter Wednesdays-Sundays, noon-4:30 pm, with docent tours at 1 pm Saturdays. Since the garden is funded partly by a city grant, Seattle residents get in free for its first five years (but you’ll need to show proof, like a driver license). A formal opening celebration is in the works for May.