Suddenly the ten or so leaves on our maple bonsai have turned red. The leaves are a rust shade, and the stems cherry red. Soon the little tree, bought at Sinajina during the summer, will be bare for the winter. Just a week ago, the tree was just starting to turn red, in the stems [...]
Posts Tagged ‘fall’
25 Dec
Winter flowers, with spring and fall references
I am surprised to see narcissus flowers blooming outdoors just days before the winter solstice. These photos are from Shinjuku Gyoen, which is amazingly beautiful in every season.
I love how the narcissus contrast against the dormant, leaf-less cherry trees above. And below their bright white flowers pop against a bed of fallen ginko leaves.
18 Dec
Late fall trees
Leaving Nodai one December day, I was struck by the bright yellow color of this ginko tree, and how it dwarfs the small street. This is the main street connecting Nodai with the Odakyu line, and the numbers of pedestrians and bicyclists far outnumber cars.
Much of Nodai’s built enviornment are 1950s Bauhaus-style six story buildings, [...]
14 Dec
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Last week I gave several talks about Tokyo Green Space, including at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Gaimusho, 外務書). The 1960s modernist building and landscaping impressed me. You can see the bright yellow ginkos in the background and the last fall leaves in the foreground.
My main point to the Ministry was that Japan has not [...]
6 Dec
Tokyo University Sanshiro-ike garden in fall
On a beautiful warm November day, I discovered Tokyo University’s Sanshiro-ike garden. I had a few moments before a meeting, and saw on the campus map that there was a central garden on the main campus. I had assumed it would be a formal garden.
I was very surprised to descend a small hillside and encounter [...]
5 Dec
Aoyama ginkos
Less famous than spring cherry blossom viewing or fall maple viewing, the Aoyama ginkos draw a crowd to see the gorgeous double allée of ginkos turning bright yellow. Last weekend was probably the peak days, with just the right balance of leaves still on the trees and enough on the ground for children to toss [...]
22 Nov
Ginkos at Waseda
On a cold and wet fall day, the bright yellow ginkos at Waseda University animate the sky. Like cherry blossoms, ginko’s fall foliage is dramatic and brief.
21 Nov
Shin Edogawa in fall
With a few minutes to spare before meeting Hiraga Tatsuya of Landscape+, I stepped into nearby Shin Edogawa park. The colors were beautiful, and empty apart from a couple having formal wedding photos taken in traditional costume. I wonder what the small seasonal sculpture is. There were several placed in the garden, and they seem [...]
20 Nov
Fall camellia in Tokyo
The weather is turning very cold in Tokyo, the leaves are turning color and fall camellias are now in bloom. This bright pink “sazanka” (サザンカ) surprised me on my walk through Koenji. Below you can see the context of this unexpected pleasure.
17 Nov
Trolls in the park
Under the title “Trolls in the Park,” there is an outdoor public art display in Suginami’s Zenpukuji park: a quiet park with two ponds, many ducks and wonderful mature trees now turning colors. If you have a chance to attend before November 22, I recommend a visit.
It was late in the day, and my photos [...]
13 Nov
Firefly habitat in Okayama
During an October visit to Okayama, a friend stumbled upon an amazing firefly habitat inNishigawa park, a small canal with a lovely walking path cutting through the center of the city. Although now hatching below water, as the sign above shows, it was amazing to see how a city creats an urban habitat for fireflies. [...]
11 Nov
The Cutting Garden at Flora Grubb Gardens
One of my favorite nurseries anywhere, Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco, just announced the opening of a floral store within the store, the Cutting Garden. Susie Nadler will be featuring plants from FGG’s farm and other California growers, using unusual local plants like proteas to create unexpected and wonderful bouquets. I have seen Susie’s [...]
10 Nov
Balcony garden in early November
With cooler nights, fall is definitely upon us. I took these photos in the first week of November to document the passing of the seasons on our balcony garden. Above a dramatic sunset over Mt Fuji illuminates the very end of the morning glory green curtain. As you can see in the photo below, there [...]
6 Nov
Fall foliage at Nezu Museum
Diane Durston of the Portland Japanese Garden invited me last week to visit the Nezu Museum, which recently reopened. The art collection of scrolls and screens representing nature from the fourteenth century are stunning, as is the new building designed by Kuma Kengo is a wonderful example of “wafu modern” (和風モダン), a modernization of traditional Japanese [...]
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