Hi
Fukushima doesn't have famous wysteria like those you see in Kyoto. No exotic red bridges, as far as I know. But today I drove out to Ja no Hana Park about 20 minutes north of Koriyama where there's a wysteria 100 metres long and over 300 years old in the grounds of what used to be a daimyo's country residence. Here are some pictures but they only tell half the story. It was a multi-sensory experience: the wonderful scent, birds singing, bees buzzing and the loud croaking of a bull frog in the pond.
In England wysteria is generally grown against a south facing wall in an attempt to catch any warmth in the cold northern climes. But here it grows wild and one of the pleasures of driving around the countryside at this time of year is to see it everywhere, exuberant and prolific.
The fine weather is set to break tomorrow evening.
Anne
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| Wysteria trellis and pond at Ja no Hana park, Motomiya |
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| Lovely scent. Lots of bees. |
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| People out for the day. You can even buy one in a pot to take home. Cheap at 3,000 yen. |
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| Wysteria in the wild. Can you see it clambering high up in the trees? |
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| Wild amongst the undergrowth. Beautiful. |
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| Newly planted paddy, graves and wysteria |
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| Twisted round a telegraph pole |
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| Climbing up a wire |
Ja no hana park - can't say I've heard of it. I've never done anything in Motomiya bar drive through it on the way to the mountains - I'll definitely check it out in August.
ReplyDeleteBig fan of wysteria - my father in law has some in his garden, and it's one of their name kanji! Re-doing our back garden here in the UK, perhaps I should stick some in...
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