Tonight we attended the Winter Festival at Shikinokaori Rose Garden. The name of the garden, Shikinokaori, means "the smell of four seasons." Festival was a bit of a stretch, but they did have some lights, a holiday display, and a Christmas tree. The lights were simple and beautiful. And the holiday display and Christmas tree were lovely.
It only took a few minutes to wander through the building and gardens. But what made up stop and really relish in the moment were all the blooming roses!
We could hardly believe our eyes at how many roses were still in full bloom. It wasn't just a few blooms here or there, they were all over! Today, the temperature reached a high of 13°C (56°F). As a person who grow up in Portland, OR - the city of roses - I was amazed to see so many roses. The combination of roses with lights was so beautiful to see.
The other eye catching thing tonight was the moon. It was so huge and yellow. It was breathtaking to see.
There weren't any activities or booths, commonly associated with festivals in Japan. It was more of just a nice thing to go see in the evening before dinner.
The garden was next to another rose garden, as well as an herb garden. We made sure to take the time to wander through these as well. I couldn't help myself from thinking of my large yard back in the US and all the plans I have for it. I miss tending to my garden and having a large yard.
Gardens in Japan seem to not just be about the flowers/produce, but also about the aesthetics. There is always a lot of bare ground between plants and everything is very planned and orderly. This is very different from the food forest type gardening I was slowly moving toward. I like a bit of chaos, just like nature. Not super neat and tidy. It took a little while to realize that almost every garden I have seen in Japan is designed with straight lines and patterns and you almost never see a weed disgracing the garden.
The Shikinokaori Rose Garden is very unusual in the fact that it is more of an English garden type design with multiple layers and intertwining plants. Maybe that's why I like it so much. It goes against the "rules."
No comments:
Post a Comment