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 weather had been warm until last week, but this week, after the rain on Monday, a cold air mass came down from the north and it suddenly became as cold as winter.
Even during the daytime, the temperature was only just over 10 degrees Celsius, and with no sunshine and strong wind, it felt really cold.
Our town, located on the northern coast of Kyushu Island, has a lot of cloudy weather in winter, which is a little depressing.
A couple who lives nearby goes to the Kanto region (near Tokyo) only during the winter. I would like to do so if I could. I wish I could do that, but I can't, because I have many gardening jobs in winter.
There is a utility pole that I can see from my window where birds often perch.
Large birds such as Tonbi (black kite) often come to this pole, but crows also often perch there. Crows also often perch on the TV antenna of our neighbor's house.
The crows often perch on the TV antenna of the neighbor's house, and the kites and crows are enemies, with the kites chasing the crows away and the crows attacking the kites together. They may look like they are taking it easy, but they are in trouble.
From the window of my house, I can see the garden transitioning from autumn to winter: changing colours of cherry, maple and wisteria leaves, and dogwood whose stems turn bright red in winter.
Last weekend morning, I went for a walk to the beach about five minutes away by car. It was a quiet morning with very few people around. The blue sky and sea were beautiful, and there was a fresh breeze blowing.
Most of the summer flowers such as Vitex rotundifolia were gone, but the Asiatic dayflower and water pepper were in full bloom.
The air was clear and I could see the island of Iki beyond the sea.
I finished the patio in front of the gazebo.
Natural grass was converted to artificial one in order to easily manage.
Concrete basis was covered with artificial turf.
A peaceful sunrise and moonrise it was today, however, I had no time for gardening just because of my full time job. I have so many things to do before spring time.
