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 seedless kumquats have ripened to a lovely orange colour and are now ready to eat, so we picked them. We used a stepladder for the higher ones. As they're seedless, you can eat them whole. They have a wonderful flavour and should keep us enjoying them for a while.
To the left of the shade garden stands a seedless kumquat tree. Come December, you can see its fruits gradually ripening to a golden yellow. Being seedless, they can be eaten whole. They possess a truly splendid flavour. All the fruits ripen gradually over the period up until spring.
Behind this stands a sasanqua camellia. Again, come December, its pink flowers begin to open little by little. The blooms can be seen right through until January. During this season when few flowers appear, their vivid yellow and pink hues brighten the garden.
I didn't prune kumquat for two years and it got too tall. So I pruned the branches that were growing too far up. Fruit was also found on high branches that could not be picked. The unripe fruits of the pruned branches are boiled in sugar.
The fruits of the three citrus varieties planted in the garden have ripened and are ready for harvesting. Lemons are mainly used for cooking. Tosa buntan (pomelo) is stored for a while after harvesting before eating. Kumquats are seedless and can be eaten whole. They can be enjoyed for a while.
It has been warm for December recently, but there is a strong cold spell coming next week. In the garden, the blueberry leaves are turning red and beautiful. Also, the citrus fruits are turning yellow and harvest time is just around the corner.
The kumquat is a citrus fruit that produces a fruit about 2 or 3 cm in diameter. They turn orange in late winter and are ready to eat. We grow seedless kumquat varieties and can eat the whole fruit, skin and all, and they are so tasty that we can hardly wait for the fruit to ripen each year. Unfortunately, the fruit are a little scarce as they are in the shade of the plum trees and do not get much sun.
The kumquat at the east end of the garden has started to flower a lot. There were a few flowers at the beginning of the summer and a few small fruits, but this time there are so many flowers that I hope there will be lots of fruits.