Hulked Out Kinmokusei

After spending a few hours at the UN University Market, we decided to walk over to Ebisu in search of ramen. Taking the backstreets as always, we found these hulked out kinmokusei in front of an old house. Two stories tall and decked out in blooms of orange and yellow, it was no surprise to see that their roots could no longer be contained.

It was remarkable, though, to see these roots still holding their soil and retaining the shape of the container. I do imagine these same roots dive under the house, too, spreading ever farther and deeper as the limited soil allows.

Another Bike Garden Blooming!

I have to say that I never suspected gardening in motorbikes would be a trend of any kind, yet this is the third garden I've seen like this. (I've spotted one recently, but heavy rains deny me the opportunity to safely photograph it.) I assumed the first bike garden was an anomaly of sorts, and expressed enormous delight at the use of old motorcycles.

Unlike the first one, this container garden doesn't showcase the bike, but rather incorporates it into the whole scene. The scooter is simply another pot-holder in a conglomeration of them spouting blooms and leaves of all types left and right. North-facing on a narrow street, this little garden must not get much light. Yet, the plants seem to be thriving and blooming right along.

Pots, a motorbike, and hanging baskets held perennials and annuals as well as a handful of succulents. It was difficult to capture the whole, but hopefully this handful of details gives an idea of the feeling. The two-story house was absolutely ringed by plants. Not many of them were tall, but their low-lying presence softened an otherwise crowded sharp-edged place. I do suspect the succulents will stay out during the winter as I've seen before, but I'll have to visit again just to be sure!

Another Morning Glory Monster!

I love taking backstreet routes for ease of travel - more bikes than cars and not even many of those - and for interest. And I'm usually returning with bike baskets overflowing that cause me to go slower than usual, so less traffic is a good thing.

On one of my regular routes for gardening supplies and just after a favorite garden spot is this workshop of sorts. I'm really not sure exactly what happens here, but the large gravel parking space in front of the metal-sided buildings makes me think it might be more industrial than not. What caught my eye this time, though, were the magnificent morning glory vines spreading over the building, it's neighbor, and the power lines. Since taking this picture, the vines have thickened and lengthened even further making the buildings and wires look as though they are simply dripping with blooms.

Morning Glory Green Curtain

This time of year morning glories, surprisingly, seem to be utterly lush. I'm not sure if it is simply the conditions of this particular year or if it is the habit of morning glories themselves. I can't say I've given them much thought up until this time. And this tangle of vines with its electric blooms was enough to not just make me think about them, but stop us on our bikes with baskets full of groceries to take a series of photos.

While it is not the largest morning glory curtain I've seen in Tokyo it is one of the most splendid. Covering a west facing window of a house on the corner of a busy street it must offer welcome shade in late summer while affording some welcome shade. (The blooming vines are traditionally used as bejeweled green curtains in Japan.) The brilliant blooms are a benefit not to be short-changed, either. Worth every moment spent making sure my overloaded bike didn't tip over!

School Garden Vines

I'm still picking and choosing an assortment of photos from September, and wanted to share this set of a school garden. I'm a firm believer that taking random roads and turns is one of the most interesting and best ways to see Japan. (It resulted in finding a very urban kaki tree, a beautiful mailbox, and some lovely vending machines, to name just a few.) The main roads are quite handy (with various gardens of their own, too), of course, but much of life here is lived in the little streets and tucked up homes behind the quick routes.

This school garden is a good example of that. Meandering back from a nearby nursery, I noticed these vines essentially taking over a playground structure. I went around the corner to discover a fence completely covered in morning glory, goya, and gourd vines with some lovely bloomers at the bottom. (Bloomers as in flowers not lady unders.)

One of the goya had spectacularly gone to seed, and another simply looked perfect for slicing and cooking up. A giant gourd hung somberly among it's leaves, and the morning glories were fading a bit after their long days work.

According to one friend, school gardens, at least in Tokyo, are not all that unusual. At his daughter's school they garden on the roof starting in the first year with morning glories. Vegetables soon follow and in his case, a green curtain heavy with goya and gourds shaded the interior of the building during the hot part of the year. The gardens themselves are incorporated into the curriculum and the harvest into the school lunch. (Let's just say I hope to make a field trip shortly!)

Kaki Tied Up and Bearing Fruit

Harajuku blends the mad fashion and quirkiness of Yoyogi Park folks with the boutique-shopping-gourmet-eaters of Omotesando, with the twisting backstreets offering a taste of saneness and some quiet.

Literally just around the corner from the lovely little mailbox and prettiest traffic cone ever, was this kaki (persimmon) tree. I like to imagine it's a leftover from a farmhouse that once stood here or someone's kitchen garden from long ago. Regardless of the cramped quarters below a stairwell and next to an air-conditioning unit, some affectionate gardener has tied it back and carefully trimmed it and surely savoring it this month. (It's still green here.)

Blooming Backstreets of Harajuku

Out walking towards evening in the Harajuku area in mid-September we passed a number of lovely gardens on residential streets and even on shopping streets. All worthy of photos, I found this mailbox and traffic cone beautification endearingly cheerful. A recent shower perked up the colors a bit turning them into bright little jewels.