Happy Friday GPODers!
The amazing contributors we’ve had on Garden Photo of the Day have really taken us all over the world. From home gardens to public parks and expansive botanical gardens, we’ve seen a plethora of plant life and design styles from countless corners of the globe. We continue our world travels today with the help of Helen Stephenson. Helen has shared her beautiful home garden in the Halton Region of Ontario, Canada with GPOD in the past (Helen’s Mostly Native Garden), but today she’s sharing photos from a trip she took to Japan last fall.
Last November, I had the chance to visit Japan (Tokyo and Kyoto). Unfortunately, that part of Japan was having a late fall and the colours on the trees hadn’t changed as much as in previous years. Despite that, I was able to take a few good photos of the maples just starting to turn colours as well as other interesting plant photos.
It was an amazing trip that I was fortunate enough to be able to take!
The Imperial Palace in Tokyo. – As Helen mentions above, the fall color wasn’t on full display when she made her visit, but the rich tradition of artistic pruning in Japan meant there was still plenty of interest to admire. Here you can see several trees with ‘cloud pruning’, a method that is pretty self-explanatory with clusters of trees that look like floating green clouds. Learn more about this technique in this article from the Royal Horticultural Society: Cloud pruning.
Another view from the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. A truly peaceful retreat in the middle of a bustling city, the innermost gardens of the palace can only be accessed through guided tours and on special holidays, but the tranquil nature that surrounds in the “Outer Gardens” allow for easier access and a taste of the stately grounds. Learn more about the Imperial Palace here: Visit the home of Japan’s Imperial family.
Another famous green spot to escape the lights and crowds of Tokyo is Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. This city park is one of the most iconic places to see Japan’s cherry blossoms in spring, but it must have been far more peaceful and relaxing outside of this “peak” time.
Like many large public city gardens, Shinjuku Gyoen is divided into different sections that are designed in distinct styles. Aside from the traditional Japanese landscape design, another area of the garden is designed in a formal French garden style (pictured above). Another space is done in an English garden style.
Even in a major city like Tokyo, inventive people find ways to infuse greenery into unexpected places. Helen says this “Living Wall’ was on the outside of a commercial building in Tokyo. What a gift to all that work and live in the area!
The following were taken in Kyoto.
One of many bamboo forests. – If you’ve heard of any bamboo forest, it may be the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto, with its winding walking paths being one of the most photographed sights in the city. However, as Helen says, there are many bamboo forests throughout Kyoto and some less-photographed areas are likely more peaceful.
On the Kodaiji Temple grounds. – The grounds around this temple feature tsukiyama-style gardens, or ‘hill gardens’. These gardens look to mimic natural landscapes on a smaller scale, with man-made hills and mounds mimicking mountains and ponds of various sizes mimicking larger bodies of water like lakes and oceans.
Trees and shrubs are selected and planted to mirror the plants that would naturally grow in these areas. Learn more about tsukiyama gardens here: Real Japanese Gardens.
Maruyama Park in the Gion district of Kyoto. – Another park in Japan that is famous for its spring cherry blossom display, but is full of history and interest that make it worthy of a visit in every season.
Taken in the Kibune area (north end of Kyoto). – Looks like Helen did get a little glimmer of fall in Kyoto, the perfect backdrop to these incredible traditional light posts.
Finally, another spot in the Kibune area that looks to be a quiet moment with nature amongst all of the busy sight seeing Helen was doing. And yet another glimpse of spectacular fall color, with the leaves of this tree resembling colorful paint strokes.
Thank you for sharing your spectacular tour of Tokyo and Kyoto, Helen! Japan is high on my travel bucket list, as I’m sure it is for many other readers, but the long flights from North America do make it a more daunting expedition! Getting this first-hand account is not only a great taste of the nature these cities have to offer, but are also a big motivator to bite the bullet and book that flight one day!
Did you do any international travel in 2024? Whether it was across the globe or just across a border, we’d love to see what plant life and nature you experienced in this new destination. Consider following the directions below to submit photos via email, or send me a DM on Instagram: @agirlherdogandtheroad. Hope you all have a lovely weekend!
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