Shobo-ji

26th November 2011 : On our visit to Yoshimine in Kyoto, we also dropped in on Shobo-ji temple. I'd made a note of it on my phone earlier in the year as a place worth visiting, but couldn't remember why. I suspect it had something to do with the trees.... Read More

Ripley Castle

23rd November 2011 : Stayed at the Boar's Head in Ripley the other day before seeing a client. Great beer, lovely pork belly, and a free visit to Ripley Castle. Bit foggy though. Rather a jaunty angle. Love the beech leaves at this time of year. and some funny pumpkins. Read More

Trucks, a moped, and some daisugi

20th November 2011 : A nice, and very typical view, in Tondabayashi.  Read More

Atsuta Jinja

14th November 2011 : (One of) the (many) nice things about Japan is you are never far from a shrine, wherever you may be, and that normally means big, old trees. During a quick trip to Nagoya I dropped in on Atsuta jinja, home to a very fat kusunoki (Cinnamomum camphora), as well as some very pleasant sacred woodland… Read More

longest pine ever

11th November 2011 : Most trees are renowned for other dimensions - height, girth, volume or age - but this one, a white pine (Pinus parvilfora) in Yoshimine temple in SW Kyoto, is meant to be the longest tree in Japan, and thus most likely the world (who else delights in training their trees sideways quite like the… Read More

Kenrokuen

10th November 2011 : Kenrokuen garden, in Kanazawa, is one the BIG THREE gardens in Japan. It is most famous for its winter snow protection, but before they get round to that preparation, there is the small business of pruning all the pines. These were taken on my phone and messed about with. Apart from the weeding… Read More

252 white willows

9th November 2011 : While in Japan, my new book finally came out- very excited to get home and see it properly for the first time. I was very fortunate in having some fantastic photographic contributions, by gardeners, artists and photographers. One such contribution came from the artist Lucien den Arend in Finland… Read More

Back from Japan

7th November 2011 : Just got back from Japan, worn out and suddenly rather cold. It was 25 degrees in Osaka when we left. Made it through customs literally bristling with sharp shiny stuff, to be announced soon, but until then, and the hundreds of pics that have yet to be sifted through, here is a picture of a bowl… Read More