Purple princess blooming on balcony

ベランダにこの色がとてもきれいです。この花は英語で「purple princess 紫姫」という名前です。日本語で「シコンノボタン 紫紺野牡丹」と言います。もともとブラジルの雨林から来ました。けれども、東京でもサンフランシスコでも育ちます。

Known botanically as Tibouchina urvilleana, I’ve always heard this plant referred to as “purple princess.” Originally from Brazil, it’s been called tropical, subtropical and “neotropical.” Despite its origin in rain forests, it grows well not only in Tokyo but also in San Francisco.

It’s taken me a while to get my small potted shrub to bloom, but I am glad I kept trying. I love the color.

Edo morning glory has white border and stripes

江戸朝顔のほうが小さくて、色がたくさんあります。沖縄朝顔とは違って、江戸朝顔は白い縁どりと白い縞があります。歴史と花の大きさを考えると、東京にぴたっりです。

I am a big fan of Okinawa morning glory and Edo morning glory. The Edo ones typically have a white border and stripes, and come in many colors. They’re very showy, a good size for domestic spaces, and they evoke Tokyo history. The Okinawa morning glory is a deep blue perennial, and quickly spreads and covers much more space. Both share a distinctive leaf shape.

If you blink, you’d miss these purple bulbs

まばたきをしないで見れば、紫色の球根が見えますよ。

If you blink, you would miss the brief bloom of these lovely purple bulbs. There’s a large patch of them along the entrance to my apartment building. The flowers are very delicate, and the leaves plentiful and verdant. I don’t know their name, but they seem to be very resilient. The entrance garden is divided between professionally trimmed hedges on the left and this large area on the right cultivated by residents and nature.

Update: Horticulturalist Jason wrote to tell me that it’s Bletilla, the easiest ground orchid to grow. It’s native to East Asia. The large patch in front of my apartment seems to require very little care. In Japanese, it’s simply called “purple orchid,” シラン。

Pink and red together again

原宿で、ビンク色のスクーターがツツジの隣に駐車されていました。ぜいたくな商品と満開の自然が一緒になって圧倒的。こんな色の組み合わせもすごい。

Spotted in Harajuku, this pink scooter parked next to red azaleas. I am overwhelmed by the extravagance of this product juxtaposed with nature in full bloom, and, of course, the color combination. For all those foreigners who think that Japanese culture is full of restraint and minimalism, this image shows the other side. This mix of nature and industrial product reminds me of the psychedelic backdrops to the ubiquitous television variety shows full of shiny objects, moving parts, and more colors than the rainbow.