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.
The glory bush is a flowering shrub that produces purple flowers in autumn. It is said to have poor cold hardiness and may die when frost sets in, but in our garden, frost is rare and it overwinters without issue. However, when it gets cold, the buds become reluctant to open and take a long time to bloom.
November has brought thoroughly autumnal weather, with mornings now turning quite chilly.
In the potager garden, marigolds are in full bloom with their yellow and orange flowers, brightening the garden instantly.
Among the vegetables, the potatoes are spreading their leaves thickly, ready for harvest next month. The mini tomatoes are bearing many fruits, gradually ripening, but as temperatures drop further they won't ripen, so I'm hoping they'll manage to ripen plenty while they still can. The asparagus plants bear numerous red berries containing seeds on their withered stems. In the raised beds covered with net frames, Swiss chard, table beet, andspinach have grown somewhat larger. I hope they continue to thrive.
The glory bush beside the border flowerbed is laden with buds and has begun to bloom. If we have a few more warm days, it should soon be in full bloom.
I walked around our early spring garden looking for blue and purple flowers, and found more than ten different types, which I would like to share with you. This is a dazzling time of year when plants begin to grow and flower en masse.
The flax, which was sown early in the potager, has already started to flower a little, partly due to the mild winter. The flowers are small and lovely light blue.
The cabbages and onions planted in the pentagonal raised beds are also growing well.
The cocktail of roses on either side of the potager shed have mostly lost their leaves, but the buds are slowly blossoming and a few are still blooming in the middle of winter. It feels very cold watching the flowers swaying in the cold wind.
Generation Jardin is also flowering, but it lasts very long because of the cold weather and the buds are not flowering very well.
Winter pruning time is coming soon.
The glory bush has had a late start to autumn flowering, and although it has lots of buds, it is not flowering very well. It looks like it will continue to flower throughout the winter.