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.
From the balcony jutting out over the potager, which lies one level below the main garden, you can see not only the potager below but also the bluebell garden and the brick wall of the main garden. Whilst some plants are withering in the garden due to the persistent heatwave and drought, there are also plenty that are thriving.
The roses in the border of the potager are in bloom. One is a single-petalled pink rose called ‘Dainty Beth’. The other is a rose called ‘Tiffany’, which is also pink and has a wonderful fragrance. I’ve been growing them for quite some time now; although they’ve lost some vigour and don’t produce many flowers, they do occasionally rebloom from May right through to autumn.
The ruellia, which I’ve been growing for several years, are also blooming every day. Although they are day-blooming flowers that open in the morning and wilt by evening, they produce numerous buds and bloom one after another throughout the long summer months.
The hot summer continues, but at the potager garden, gaura and ruelia are now blooming by the entrance. The gaura bears numerous white flowers, their appearance resembling a swarm of tiny white butterflies in flight. The ruelia's blue flowers glow a deep blue-purple as they catch the morning sun. We hope the cool autumn arrives soon.
Early mornings are cooler than in mid-summer. The morning sun shines on the potager from sunrise. The garden looks glorious in the morning sun. In September, vegetables such as peppers and asparagus grow in the potager, and in addition to red roses and dwarf sunflowers, gaura and ruellia are in bloom.