Japanese papermaking at Kew
Ever heard of economic botany? No, nor had I until I went on the Japan Society tour of the Herbarium at Kew Gardens which took us to see the economic botany collection and the library. Economic botany...
View ArticleLacquer, Japanning and Eileen Gray – the new furniture gallery at the V&A
I’m not usually quick off the mark, so left to myself I probably wouldn’t have got around to the new Dr Susan Weber Furniture Gallery at the Victoria and Albert Museum before the spring, but Yannick...
View ArticleTokyo Cherry Blossom 2013
I know, I’m going into cherry blossom overload mode, but I just couldn’t resist sharing some more pictures with you. I took these at Shinjuku Gyoen (Shinjuku National Garden), which is a short walk...
View ArticleBest cherry blossom in London at Kew Gardens
Yes, it’s official – having just spent a wonderful sunny day at Kew Gardens looking at the cherry blossom I can confirm that it’s definitely the best place in London to see cherry blossom. And it’s in...
View ArticleA Lesson in Bonsai
Once again the Japan Society came up trumps with a great trip to Kew Gardens to learn about bonsai. And again I have to make a confession – though I’ve been to Kew a lot and was sure I’d seen all the...
View ArticleOpen Garden Squares Weekend 8th-9th June
This weekend is Open Garden Squares Weekend when you get a chance to visit over two hundred community gardens and private squares throughout London, some of which you can only get access to on this one...
View ArticleRoses in Queen Mary’s Garden
Queen Mary’s Garden in Regent’s Park is famous for its roses. I went there last week with a Japanese friend, who wanted to see real English roses on her visit to the UK, just as we want to see cherry...
View ArticleThe hyper-realistic flowers of Yoshihiro Suda
Look at the clematis flower in the picture above. Lovely isn’t it? Delicate petals, intense colour, finely-veined leaves…you’d be surprised if I told you it was made of wood. Well, it is. That’s what...
View ArticleKew Gardens in Summer
Last week I took a trip down to the other end of town for a day out at Kew Gardens, visiting the lovely Japanese Landscape garden and Kew Palace. I’ve never visited the palace before (it’s actually...
View ArticleHammersmith Park Japanese Garden
There are two well-known Japanese Gardens in London – the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park and the Japanese Landscape, with the Chokushi-mon at its centre, in Kew Gardens. I’ve written about both of them...
View ArticleMerry Christmas!
Wishing you a very happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year! Here are some pictures from Kew Gardens to bring some natural greenery to your Christmas. Kew Gardens are closed on Christmas Day but are...
View ArticleOrchids and Cherry Blossom at Kew
We planned our trip to the orchids show at Kew Gardens months ago, me and my twitter friends, and we chose early March in the hope that the endless winter rain might have come to an end by then –...
View ArticleMarianne North, Victorian Explorer
One of the nice things about Kew Gardens is how you can go on discovering new things there however often you go. I must have walked past the Marianne North Gallery dozens of times without giving it a...
View ArticleIkebana – the Japanese art of flower arranging
I’ve been wanting to do a post about ikebana – the Japanese art of flower arranging – ever since I started this blog, but it’s not easy to find in London. But this week I struck lucky; an exhibition...
View ArticleLooking for cherry blossom? You’ve come to the right place!
It’s cherry blossom season again, and time for my annual cherry blossom report. No, it’s not a guide – I did that last year and if that’s what you want then go straight to London Parks Cherry Blossom...
View ArticleRegent’s Park Cherry Blossom Virtual Tour
It’s really hard to get the timing right with cherry blossom. When the lovely grove of pink cherries at the south of Regent’s Park flowered early this year, in mid-March, I thought I ‘d blown it. But...
View ArticleThe Japanese Garden in Regent’s Park
I’ve travelled all over London to visit obscure Japanese gardens in out of the way places, but all the time I never realised there was one much closer to home – in Regent’s Park, no less. It’s part of...
View ArticleRhododendrons and Azaleas at Kenwood House
I’d like to pretend that I made a special trip to Kenwood House on Hampstead Heath just to see the rhododendrons and azaleas in full flower, with the visit carefully timed to catch them at their peak....
View ArticleShinjuku Gyoen Japanese Garden – peace in the heart of Tokyo
Tokyo is not as well provided with green open spaces as London. There are a few parks in the centre, like Hibiya Park, but nothing like the great swathe of green that runs through the centre of...
View ArticleThe Fukushima Garden two years on
When I started this blog two years ago, the first actual event I wrote about was the opening of the Fukushima Garden in Holland Park on 24th July 2012. The garden was created as an expression of...
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