When I browse through the garden bubble on my Instagram, one topic that keeps popping up is: should we use cherry laurel or not? At least in central Europe this question is vividly discussed. We now know that cherry laurel tends to be invasive in Central Europe, with its seeds...Continue Reading
Our newest eBook has been published! Learn more about the fascinating landscape garden Sankei-en in Yokohama!Continue Reading
When one thinks of Japanese gardens, the image of delicate cherry blossoms in full bloom often comes to mind. While cherry blossoms certainly hold a special place in Japanese culture and aesthetics, there is much more to the seasonal beauty found within these meticulously curated landscapes. Japanese gardens, known for...Continue Reading
I always point out that the regular Japanese garden is not flat. Most of them, even the tiniest ones, have at least one small mound. Fascinating was that, during my research, I found so little information on mounds in the Japanese garden! A garden with a tsukiyama 築山 is called...Continue Reading
The Rikugien garden was initially built by Yanagisawa Yoshiyasu from 1695 until 1702. In 1868 it was purchased by Iwasaki Yataro who remodeled the garden to his needs but kept the heart of the garden – the theme of Waka poetry. However, he added many elements. So also the Hōraijima...Continue Reading
Hi there! You’re in Tokyo? Maybe staying at Tokyo Family Stay’s Conoe Sanbancho’s Apartment?And you would like to see a park or garden? Then let’s go for a walk! A walk around and through the Tokyo Imperial Palace! Of course, you can start on any side of the Imperial Palace...Continue Reading
Today, we want to explore two popular elements in Japanese gardens. The picture of the turtle and the crane. For this, we will take the garden of Koichi-in in Kyoto as an example, where we have both elements as a rock setting (island) in one garden. However, these pictures can...Continue Reading
虎の子渡し – Tiger family crossing a river 碧巌録に示された臥龍 – Sleeping dragon 星座カシオペヤ – The constellation Cassiopeia 心の字 – Heart character 京都盆地を囲む五山 – Five mountains surrounding Kyoto 光の反射板 – Reflecting of Light 満月を巡る – The moon phases around the full moon Today I want to dig deeper into the manifold interpretations...Continue Reading
Plant Profile: Osmanthus fragrans Ancient Greek: osmḗ = fragrance, ánthos = flower Latin: fragrans = fragrance English: Sweet olive, tea olive, fragrant olive Flower period in Japan: middle of September – end of October Color of flowers: Orange Soil: rich fertile soil, well drained garden soil Exposition: from sun to...Continue Reading
The next garden element on my list is the stone lantern. Everyone knows the beautiful withered lanterns made of natural or hewn rocks. Today I want to talk about their origin and use in the Japanese garden. Origin Lanterns weren‘t always a garden element. They were invented in a religious...Continue Reading
