Rose Bush Takes Over House

This is another garden I have long admired as I run my regular errands. Watching it change and bloom throughout the seasons is a delight, but at this moment it is at a peak. As noted during a recent walk in Yanaka everything is in bloom at the moment, but roses seem particularly effervescent.

This two-story house has a very small footprint - houses closely abut on either side - but the climbing roses and assortment of other plants envelop it in a jungle. Every inch of space seems to have a pot with a plant or vine growing out of it. The support network - poles, netting, wire, and clips - is somewhat visible in the photos and keeps it all up and climbing. The front gate looked almost impassable with all the branches and blooms.The inside must be filled with delicious scent of the roses and feel miles away from the city life just outside the door.

Purple Pot Line Up

Last Spring while out running this garden veritably leaped out at me with color. The tiny space is full of pots of purple flowers that can be seen almost everywhere here. Creating a cloud of color on this corner, it's interspersed with a few tulip bulbs and other scattered blooms. It's one of a line of small garden spaces that are set back just a tiny bit from a busy intersection and two busy roadways. A tall white dogwood is just in its prime nearby, as well.

Curbside Garden Favorite

This is a garden I pass all the time as I run errands for the garden. It's quite impressive as the flower boxes are always full of blooms and blossoms. The balcony of this house is also full to the brim with pots that are absolutely overflowing. It's fun to watch it change through the seasons, too. Earlier in the year it was full of broccoli raab greens and bright yellow flowers that, along with cherries, are one of the signs that warmer and brighter days are surely on the way.

Rooftop Sakura

I first noticed this tree last summer when riding home from the farm. I looked up and was astonished to see a massive tree on top of the building. Last week I was even more astonished to glance up from planting and see it in its blooming glory. When I mentioned it to Shee-chan she too, marveled at it, and later told me its story.

Apparently, the tree once lived near an old house across the street from the farm. The property was sold for development and the land was being cleared to make way for the ten story apartment building that now stands there. The old woman who lived in the old house, though, could not bear to cut down the tree. So, it was transplanted (perhaps by a child of hers) to its current location to live out its days in new penthouse digs.

Mini Blooming Plum Tree

This house is one I pass by on a nearly daily basis as I run errands or head to the station. The back garden is quite stunning and is always worth a peek, but I've also noticed that the plants by the front door change regularly with the season, too. This mini plum tree made me practically jump for joy when I saw it in mid-March. (I'm a bit behind on posting, but felt this one was too lovely to not share.)

Not as showy as cherries the plum (ume) is still a well-loved tree, and its blossoms are as eagerly awaited in Japan as any. Perhaps one of the earlier signs of Spring, it is lovely harbinger of warmer days to come and the tasty umeshu that will be concocted from its fruit. I'm hoping to whip up a batch this year in addition to the ginger wine brewed last Spring.