Samurai Garden – Fighting for a Japanese Garden

What kind of traveller are you? Do you prefer to lie in a hammock slung between two palm trees, reading the latest blockbuster novel? Or would I find you soaking up the local culture along with the sun? I’m more of the latter, and it helps to know a smattering of the local language if you go off the beaten track!

Gardening for some provides the daily bread, for others, it’s an escape from reality and for you, it might be your favourite hobby. Nevertheless, a garden decorated to your own preferences will act as a source of inspiration and will provide you a place to gather up your thoughts.

Ants. Love them or hate them, it is undeniable that they are amazing creatures. With large, complex societies, fungus-farming techniques and an empire which almost spans the entire globe, it is a blessing that they are so small and have not yet developed an overwhelming collective intelligence.

Features to Expect in a Japanese Garden

The Japanese poetic work, ‘Manyoshu’ published in 759 AD but written 300-400 years prior  selected 7 flowers for Autumn. This corresponds to the 7 Herbs of spring reported on an earlier post.

The seed catalogue season is in full swing and I paused to consider their value to gardeners.

Ornamental Japanese Maples are widely available for planting in your garden. The autumn colouring makes these trees spectacular when planted en mass in a woodland or Japanese garden setting.

Despite my garden being full to overflowing after the spring rain I have decided to create a new area for a Japanese Garden. When starting a new project I was advised to have a name that may colour the end result. I opted for the grand title of ‘Japan Land’  This will be a long term project and I won’t rush it as I have on other projects in the past.

Mesclun is a name for a traditional melange of salad leaves. The name mesclun doesn’t feature in any of my gardening reference books before 1980 so old gardeners may not recognise the term.

This summer has been damp and the plants have grown lush. In some way this has contributed to a dramatic cut in the number of greenfly on my roses and other plants (perhaps they found other feeding grounds or did not mate as prolifically).

Lilacs are members of the Syringia family and are named for the colour. There are deep lilacs verging on violet and light pinkish lilacs even some pretty floriferous white flowering Lilacs.

London Holland Park’s water feature in Kyoto Garden.