Hips & Berries

Autumn has come and I can enjoy red berries and rose hips in my balcony.

 Cranberry

 

Recently, we have a typhoon (hurricane) EVERY WEEK... Last week, we had a big typhoon which inflicted immense damage on Izu-Oshima Island,  located about two-hour-ferry-ride from Tokyo. It's quite rare for us to have such a big one in October. In addition, two big typhoons are still on their way to Japan together this week, scary...

 

 

 

So, I decided to pike up all the cranberries before typhoon comes.

Rosa Glauca

We can enjoy rose hips, as well.

※キチさ〜ん、グラウカのヒップ今年こそキチンとしたものを渡したいんだけど、
　　もう摘んじゃって大丈夫かな?　台風でシワシワになってきたものもあるんだけど…＾＾;
　

Rosa Mulliganii

Love the crimson red of the Checker Berry:)

From here, I want to show you the Blackberry from Jun.

This one was given by my garden friend and it was the first time to have berries!

Love the shape of them!

Besides the blackberry and cranberry, I have one more edible berry in my garden, called Bilberry. It had also berries in July and I picked them up and had them frozen with blackberries.

 

 

 

Finally, I made three-berry-jam.  It was yummy!!

 

 

 

 

 

Garden Broggers' Bloom Day - October 2013

Hi everyone,

We'd been having hot days, like 30 degrees here in Japan last week. But autumn has surely come to my balcony. How is your garden?

 

Let's take a look at what's flowering in my balcony.

 

 

Madam Figaro
 

Can enjoy autumn roses. 

 

"Blue Sprite", Clematis and "Alister Stella Gray" Noisette rose

 

 

The combination of Clematis and Roses is my favorite scene!

 

 

"Under the Rose"

"Narrow Water"

 

 "Alister Stella Gray"

And today, the scene which I want to show you is bellow.

It maybe a seemingly common shot. You might think it just as a shot of some weeds. But creating such a scene in a balcony, which means on a CONCRETE FLOOR, required enormous efforts.

First of all, I put bricks on a concrete floor and put some Pink-head knotweed pots between them. But they didn't grow at all as I intended to... So, I had to give up growing them last year.

But about six months later, the knotweed has appeard through the bricks! I was so excited!!!

 

       I put large pots at each side of the brick path, and planted Austrarian Rosemary,

       Ivy Vine, Carex, and so on, trying to cover pots with their own leaves.

 

In addition, I decided to put a brick on which  some letters were carved. So I pasted mortar on it and engraved a word, "GARDEN."

 OH MY GOOOD!  Seemed to have made a spelling mistake!

Happy Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day!

Tiny Garden Shop in the Woods

Went to a tiny garden shop in the woods.

Pots and plants you can get here are all tiny sizes.

They mainly have succulents and plants easy to be grown.

Look at the above photos! They planted succulents in verious handmade pots. They are really lovely, aren't they? :)

A swing and ladder are set on trees around the shop. If you take your children here, they can play on a swing or climb a tree in nature:) My friend on the above shot has matured enough, though, ahaha...

 

I noticed that a bug spray and a medicine for insect bites were set on a post with lovely signs, which said "Please feel free to use it." We can enjoy such heartwarming hospitalities.

 You can buy a pot in which plant has already been planted, or you can get them separately.

 

 

 

I got a building-shaped pot and Ardisia. A kind orner planted it in a pot for me!

 

 

 

Thought that this place had a  power which could allay fatigue in a city

 

 

Lovely pot has joined at the window in my livingroom:)

 

 

 

 

Imperial garden

 Believe it or not, this was my first time to visit here.

Despite the fact that it's located about 5 minite-walk from a company where I worked for before...

Its garden has huge land, we can enjoy a lot of rose hips this time of year...

This is Imperial garden, located in the center of Tokyo.

Of course, they still preserve those old wooden buildings, gatekeeper's lodge,  from Edo-era.

Here is maybe the famous sightseeing spot behind Kyoto among foreign tourists;)

 

 

After strolling around the park, we walk to Ginza, the most famous entertainment district in Tokyo.

 

 

What we ate in a good restaurant in Ginza was... 

 

 

Dry fish, called "Hokke", a typical home cuisine in Japan... AGAIN. Because whenever we get together in a restaurant, he (on the left in the above photo) defintely orders "Hokke", ahaha...

Rest Area Floating on the Ocean

Gues where?

Seaside park?

As you can see, there is no beach, the answer is NO.

 

 

Many cars run into a multi-story parking lot.

Never-ending stretch of road on the ocean!

 

 

I was here!

 

Oh,  this map covers too broad...

 

Okay, again,  I was here!

 

 

Actually, this is a Rest Area  floating on the ocean!  It's called "Umi-Hotaru", an artificial island that is accessible from Tokyo Bay Aqualine, expressway.  It was opened in 1997 at 15-kilometers (9.3 miles) long and connects Kisarazu City of Chiba Prefecture and Kawasaki City of Kanagawa Prefecture in just 20 minutes of driving time.

What's unique is that this expressway consists of tunnel and bridge. After entering from Kawasaki, you have to go through an undersea tunnel for about four miles.

 

Once you reach Umihotaru, Rest Area, you can enjoy variety of restaurants,

 

souvenir shops, cafés and desserts

 

After leaving Umihotaru, you can drive on a long bridge enjoying  the panoramic view of ocean!

You can enough to enjoy only on this reast area!