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.
At the entrance to the potager garden, the new shoots of the golden holly are a beautiful golden colour. The foxgloves are still blooming beautifully, their flower spikes stretching upwards. We have finished harvesting the cabbages from the pentagonal raised bed, and the potatoes will soon be ready for harvesting. The California poppies continue to bloom with their vibrant yellow flowers. The asparagus has grown tall and leafy, and the harvest is now largely complete. The chamomile has finished flowering; we have cut it down, dried it, and are using it as mulch for the mini watermelons. The flax is bearing plenty of seed. We will soon be entering the rainy season, followed by the intense heat of midsummer.
Chameleon plant flowers are currently in bloom in the Bluebell Garden. With their four pure white petals and bright yellow stamens, they look absolutely lovely against the backdrop of the beautiful foliage. A few double-flowered chameleon plants, where the stamens have formed into petals, are also in bloom. Once these flowers start to bloom, the rainy season will soon be upon us.
In the shade garden, plants with beautiful foliage thrive. Among them, the acanthus is particularly striking, with its glossy, pointed leaves featuring deep lobes; furthermore, the flowers that bloom at this time of year, rising on tall spikes, captivate with their unique, unparalleled form. We have also planted variegated varieties in the garden, though unfortunately they are not in bloom at present. On the wall of the garden room window overlooking the shade garden hangs wallpaper designed some 150 years ago by the English designer William Morris, featuring acanthus leaves as its motif.
Amaryllis are blooming in front of the garden room. They are the first thing you see when you come up from the entrance at the bottom. Ever since I planted the bulbs a friend gave me over ten years ago, they have bloomed every spring. The white amaryllis had been looking rather lacklustre and hadn’t bloomed for the last few years, but they have finally produced flowers again after several years. They are beautiful amaryllis with very vibrant colours.
It has been sunny every day since 4 May, so the garden is quite dry and needs watering. The roses in the side yard garden are in bloom. These are varieties that come into flower a little later than usual; they weren’t in bloom at all during the open garden event the other day. ‘Summer Snow’, the white rose at the very top of the main garden, is a variety that produces hundreds of flowers on a single tree, and it is now in full bloom. The ageing ‘Pierre de Ronsard’ is also producing a few flowers.
In the ‘Blue Border’—a flowerbed on the east side of the main garden where we grow flowering shrubs and perennials with blue flowers—the catmint is currently in full bloom. Flower bees visit every day, drawn by the nectar. The two lamb figurines have really settled into the scenery here (or perhaps we’ve just got used to them). Behind the catmint, I have temporarily placed two potted olive trees. They are covered in tiny flower buds and look set to bloom very soon. I plan to transplant these two olive trees into the large pots in front of the brick wall.
Angela, the pink rose that blooms atop the arch, is now in its fifteenth year. It reaches full bloom at this time every year and is one of the star roses of the main garden. As dusk falls, its colour appears slightly different from how it looks during the day.
