Petit English Garden of MARPLE & POIROT

My wife and I started gardening in Fukuoka (Japan) in 2003. There was nothing but muddy clayey sloping land. At the beginning we made several structure such as steps and paths, and planted turf, fruit trees, roses, herbs etc. In 2010, we visited several famous English gardens, including Sissinghurst Castle Garden, Mottisfont Abbey Garden and Hidcote Manor Garden. We were shocked by the glory of those gardens. Since then, we have been trying to make small but glorious gardens by ourselves.

庭の紹介

　夫婦で庭づくりを福岡の郊外で2003年に始めました.　赤土むきだしの斜面にまず階段や園路をつくって芝をはり、果樹やバラ、ハーブなどを植えました.

　2010年にイギリスの有名なガーデンの、シシングハースト、モティスフォントアビー、ヒドコートマナーなどを回り、その素晴らしさに圧倒され、それから自分たちで小さくても素晴らしい庭をめざして庭づくりをつづけています.

3/07/2018

IT'S JINGZHE, WHEN HYBERNATING INSECTS AWAKE (虫が動きだす啓蟄が来た)

Temperature has been rising these days,
and I pruned Akebia trifoliata on the west side wall of our house.
Now, it is the best season for Akebia to be pruned
because its flower buds has started to grow
and it's easy to distinguish between live and dead vines.

It flowers at the end of this month, and its fruits ripen in autumn.

気温がこの頃上昇していて
家の西側の壁の三つ葉アケビの剪定をしました
今がアケビの剪定の適期で、
花芽が少し大きくなってきていて
生きているつると枯れているつるが容易に見分けられるのです。
今月末に花は咲いて、秋に実が熟します

March sixth is Jingzhe this year,
that is the 3rd of the 24 solar terms in the traditional East Asian calendars.
And the word means the awakening of hibernating insects.
I found some hairy caterpillars (larvae of Lemyra imparilis)
for the first time this season on vines of Akebia.
This is the most damaging pest in spring in our gardens.
The battle has started!