Tulips Rising

Garden Wall Vents

Most garden walls in our area are made of cinder blocks. This wall has vents at the top and slits near the bottom. They allow air to flow freely. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

This wall has a different design for vents near the ground.

This wall has diamond shaped vents near the top.

Click here to see another design.

The Neighbor's Camellia

This potted camellia was blooming in a neighbor's garden. That yellow plastic chain is their gate, I guess. I've never seen it hooked to the other pole (outside the picture).

It seems a little late for camellias.

First Frog

There was a frog in our garden this morning. It was the first frog I have seen--in our garden! His leg looked injured. I hope he stays here a long time and eats mosquitoes. We have thousands of mosquitoes in the summer. Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Garden Hose

Our garden hose is in a box. Pull the nozzle to unroll it. There is a handle on the other side that can be cranked to roll the hose up. There is also a handle on top to move the hose box. There are holes in the plastic base of the box so that it can be staked into the ground.

The hose is attached to a faucet under that metal plate behind the box. There is a knob there, but we can turn the water off and on at the nozzle, too. Click to enlarge.

An Old Design in An Old Stone Wall

Click to enlarge. We were in the car when I saw this garden wall. I have never seen this design for a garden wall vent. It is shaped like a fan.

Sunset in Our Garden

Sunlight always finds its way through. At sunset at this time of year, there's a slant of light that makes its way between the houses into our garden.

We have no lawn of grass. Just dirt and mold and moss.

More light.

See the spots of light? On our roof, the neighbor's balcony, the palm tree and bay tree. Can you tell from which direction the sun is coming?

Natural Pesticide

This lily plant is outside Baba's window. This year there are many buds. Hopefully, there will be many flowers. There were many little white aphids that threatened to eat the buds.

Then yesterday, I discovered this little insect had cleaned them up. The buds are now safe--for a while. Can you tell what kind of insect it is?

It's a baby praying mantis. It will get big and green as the summer goes on. It will shed its skin. There's already a lot for it to eat. I'm glad we have this natural pesticide! It is the third generation of praying mantis that I know of. (I've only been in charge of the garden for three years since Jiji passed away.) Click on the label below or do a blog search to see posts about praying mantis and other bugs and insects.

Garden Trees

There is a row of sculptured trees in the garden in the background.

These trees are in a nearby field. They will be sold and taken to be planted in someone's garden.

Green Day

Today is Green Day. Click on the Kids Web Japan link below to find out more about it. This is a sign at Jindai Botanical Garden. It says "Green Adventure" in katakana, the script used for foreign words. Follow the arrow and you'll have a green adventure, I guess. Though this is one of the biggest cities in the world, there is much greenery. And lots of "many colored" adventures!


Kids Web Japan-- Green Day

Earth Day 2007: Another Trip to Jindai Botanical Gardens

Hopped on a bus to go to Jindai Botanical Gardens again. This time for the azaleas. We didn't have to hop up too far--the bus driver pushed a button and whoosh! The bus bent down for us.

Here is the map at the entrance of the Gardens. The pictures on the left show what is in bloom now.

We go to Jindai Botanical Gardens to enjoy the seasons of plants. Check out all the pictures posted today.

If you are interested in Japanese gardens, have a look at the new book, Create Your Own Japanese Garden A Practical Guide written by Motomi Oguchi and Joseph Cali. Joseph Cali also wrote The New Zen Garden: Designing Quiet Places.


for info. about Earth Day:

Earth Day Tokyo in Japanese
Earth Day
The Wilderness Society

Jindai Botanical Gardens

Azaleas at Jindai Botanical Gardens

After breathing all those bus fumes, it was nice to see the many azaleas. They are supposed to clean the air. This is the view from across the pond.

The azaleas were not in full bloom. Some of these shrubs are rhododendron. They will bloom later.

On the other side of the pond.

Jindai Botanical Garden

Some Trees at Jindai Botanical Gardens

Trees clean the air, too. Early spring and the pine cones are forming.

The cherry trees are now green with leaves. This one needs support.

Jindai Botanical Gardens

Plant Supports

There will be a new section of plants. Men were building supports for them. They used bamboo poles.

Bamboo is very strong. When I lived in Malaysia in the 1980s, it was used as scaffolding for constructing tall buildings.

Tools of Gardening

Where are all the gardeners?

A Gardener

Here she is!

Weeds?

Some of you may be interested in weeds. You'll have to click to enlarge the pictures. You may recognize the one in the picture above. It will have tiny purple flowers. A milky white goo will get all of your hands if you pick it.

Note the cherry blossom petal on the left. It blew into our garden from the park down the street.

Another weed. See our hose?

I don't know any of the names of these weeds in English or Japanese. But I think this one is called crab grass. I have a lot of weeding to do!