A rose named “hope” sounds cheesy but is actually a super-rose

説明どおり、レスポワールというバラは東京のベランダで育てやすかったです。家に、すごく元気になりました。香りもいいです。

In May, I went to the “home center” (Nakano Shimachu) and bought the most expensive rose (about US$ 30). It’s name is L’Espoir, or Hope. It scores a perfect 5 in every attribute: grows well in pots, size of flower, scent, bloom frequency, and ease of growing. It’s also dedicated to the Tohoku March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

I am generally skeptical of industrial gardening, but I gave Hope a try. It turned out great on the 10th floor balcony. It may not have grown that tall, but it required no pesticide and bloomed often. I love the scent. To me, scent is essential in roses.

If you stick your head over the balcony rail, and look down, . . .

ベランダのレールの上から見ると、普通の庭の境界線みたいですが、ここはバラと樫の木があります。けれど、借景は全然違います。

The garden grows away from the apartment and to the light. One way to enjoy it is by looking over the rail. It looks like  a conventional garden border, this one of rose and oak, but in an unfamiliar position.

The green curtain becomes covered with vines quickly

梅雨の蒸し暑い天気のおかげで、つる植物がベランダのグリーンカーテンを早く覆っています。今、三種類のクレマチス、琉球朝顔、フウセンカズラ、バラがあります。

The warm, humid weather has jump-started the green curtain. So far, there’s three types of clematis, Okinawa morning glory, fusenkazura (balloon vine), and a climbing rose.

Green curtain filling in again

今年もグリーンカーテンが厚くなってきました。琉球アサガオやバラやジャスミンがネットに登っています。左側、カナメモチは台所に一番近いです。

This year’s green curtain is filling in. Already leafing out are the perennial Okinawa morning glory, jasmine, and a pink rose. The kanamemochi (photina) bush is about 1.5 meters tall, and brings the garden right up to the sliding glass kitchen doors.

Do you prefer roses with fragrance?

香りのあるバラのほうが好きですか。

This rose pops on the balcony garden. When buying roses, I always make sure they are fragrant.

Roses bloom early on balcony. Along with jasmine, first to bloom on green curtain

毎年、グリーンカーテンにバラとジャスミンが最初に咲きます。庭の背景は建物の森みたいです。

I like the city backdrop to my balcony green curtain. The rose and jasmine are the first to bloom.

Ceramic vase with balcony’s first rose this year, plus rosemary

史火陶芸教室で作った花瓶に、ベランダの植物を入れました。このピンクバラはいい香りがします。形と香りのために、ローズマリーも一緒に入れてみました。

Using balcony plants, I created this small arrangement in a ceramic vase I made at Shiho. This pink rose has a good scent, and i added rosemary for additional scent and its mix of hard needles and curvy stems.

Roses spill out of control between house and sidewalk

二階から路地まで、ピンクのバラがあふれています。手に負えない様子が素敵です。

I love this outpouring of pink roses extending from the second floor of the house out into the small street.

Rose and fujibakama evoke West and Japan

私のベランダの庭には、違う場所を呼び起こす植物を並べて置きます。ここはバラとフジバカマは一緒にあります。小さな庭なのに、楽しいです。

In my balcony garden, I like juxtaposing plants that evoke different places. Here is a late-blooming pink rose, originally from Asia yet cultivated extensively in Europe, along with fujibakama, one of Japan’s seven fall flowers. Mixing forms, colors, and histories make even the smallest garden fun.

Balcony rose with Nishi Shinjuku in background

ベランダのバラは咲いて、背景に西新宿が見えます。

May is a great time for roses around Tokyo

どのバラにも香りがあるべきだと思います。けれども、香りがなくても、バラを見たら、いつも元気にならずにはいられない。

I have seen some lovely roses walking in Tokyo recently. The red one above is from the border between Sakuragaoka 桜丘町 and Uguisudani 鶯谷町, a leafy upscale neighborhood ten minutes from the world famous Shibuya pedestrian crossing (called scramble, スクランブル in Japanese). I like how this red rose has escaped a private garden and is now attaching itself to the street mirror meant to prevent collisions.

The yellow rose is from a house in Nakano, near a pedestrian walkway built on an old creek. I wish all roses had fragrance, but whenever you see roses, it is hard not to feel cheerful.