Behind The Great Green Wall

3 September 2025

It was a blistering hot summer in Tokyo this year–the third year in a row to have the highest temperatures on record–and that had a mixed effect on our garden. One aspect of that heat was to great a great green wall.

Our wattles, tea trees, grevilleas, and jacaranda all grew thick and fast over the summer, providing some shade, which was greatly appreciated by the tree fern I’m sure, but robbing other plants of light.

Combined with the relentless heat that obliterated the lawn, our proteas have both withered away and many other plants are struggling. Only the big trees have loved the summer, but shown that largely with foliage over flora, with the jacaranda becoming thick and lush yet failing to produce the purple blossoms we had taken great trouble to try and produce over preparations that began last winter. Growth has become so great we’ve become a nuisance for neighbors, so we’ll be pruning later this month instead of December as originally planned.