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.

4/13/2025

MUBE FLOWERS AT THE ENTRANCE TO BLUEBELL GARDEN (ブルーベルの庭入り口のムベの花)

Mube (Stauntonia hexaphylla) is a climbing vine, with many flowers in clusters in April. The petals (actually the calyx) are shaped in a way that has been described as ‘like peeling a banana’. It produces both female and male flowers, with the male flowers accounting for more than 90% of the total.

In autumn, the fruits are about the size of a chicken egg and ripen to a reddish-purple colour. The jelly-like part around the seed is sweet and edible, much like an akebi, but unlike the akebi, it does not spontaneously split open to reveal its contents.

It is growing on an arch at the entrance to the bluebell garden, which is just now in full bloom. The female flowers are slightly larger and have three pistils. The male flowers have several stamens attached in the centre as one thick strand.

ムベ（郁子、トキワアケビ）はツル性の植物で、４月にたくさんの花を房状につけます。花びらの様子は「バナナの皮をむいたような」と表現されるような形をしています。雌花と雄花を咲かせますが、雄花が９割以上を占めます。

秋には実が鶏卵ぐらいの大きさになり、熟すと赤紫色になります。種の周りのジェリー状の部分が甘くて食べられ、アケビによく似ていますが、アケビと違って自然に割れて中身がみえるようにはなりません。

ブルーベルの庭の入り口のアーチに誘引して育てていますが、今ちょうど満開になっています。雌花がやや大きくて、雌蕊が３本あります。雄花には複数の雄蕊が中央で太い１本のようにくっついています。