I did a lot of research about auspicious plants and places in connection to Japanese gardens and one term that always appeared was 「Kimon」. But what is this Kimon? Kimon (鬼門) can be translated as “Demon Gate”. This term, at least, dates back to the Heian period. It is the...Continue Reading
You may remember my blog post about this Ryokan from back in early 2019. Now, one year later, I finally finished the eBook about this wonderful place and its gardens! Actually, I hoped for an opportunity to visit it after the renovations which took place until summer last year but...Continue Reading
Sometimes I stumble upon phrases in texts about Japanese gardens. These phrases are actually common knowledge in the Japanese garden scene, yet, although it is widely spread and you can read about it in every book (or so it seems), in this one situation it always hits me as if...Continue Reading
On my way to work, I found this tiny little garden. Some usual green in front of an apartment house was what I thought. But then I came closer and realized something… The border was planted with Satsuki azaleas but inside were almost only edible plants! I want to believe...Continue Reading
My first trip to Kyoto was back in April 2006. On my list were many famous temples including Daitoku-ji. However, I didn’t visit the Zuiho-in sub-temple back then. In 2014 and 2015, I visited Kyoto again, also Daitoku-ji, but only for special autumn openings and Zuiho-in was not on that...Continue Reading
Summer is a living nightmare for most in Japan with temperatures only getting higher in recent years. As a professional gardener living and working in Tokyo for the past seven years, I have no choice but to leave our lovely air-conditioned office and head to whichever garden we are...Continue Reading
Hi there! If you follow us on Social Media, you will know that I had my Kiyosumi garden tour on June 15. And I did it in the pouring rain! And do you know? We had a lot of fun! It seems that the weather made some people not to...Continue Reading
Karikomi is a special design and pruning technique in a Japanese garden which is often seen done with plants of the Rhododendron family in Japan. It is separated into the usual karikomi and o-karikomi – a larger element in the garden put together by more than one shrub. What I...Continue Reading
This post was a request by one of our followers on Instagram. If you want me to cover a special topic, feel free to contact me! Moss is commonly seen as a signature plant for a Japanese garden. Although not every Japanese garden will be covered with moss, it is...Continue Reading
Years ago I frequently visited Kamakura with its many temples. While I visited really a lot of temples, one temple listed on our website I always missed. This was Hasedera. Now that I planned to complete the eBooks for the Kamakura area I visited the temple twice and started with...Continue Reading
