In 2019, Professor Zaida (Zan) Luthey-Schulten donated a bench in honor of her husband, Klaus J. Schulten. The bench is off the sidewalk between the bridge and the Azumaya and has a beautiful view of Japan House across the pond. A sidewalk leading to the bench was installed in the fall of 2020, with bamboo brushing and stonework by Shozo Sato.

In the winter of 2020, a landscape design was developed by Arboretum landscape architect, John Brown, for the area around Zan’s Bench, with plantings to accompany the new bench and the sidewalk. The design included a seawall installation along the west bank of the pond. Zan’s Garden was planted in the summer of 2021 with Russian sage, coralbells, azaleas, hosta, and other shade plants.