Being greeted by the sublimely serene sight of fully blooming wisteria in the outer suburban wonderland of Yakushiike Park only to have the calmness crushed by the piercing squeal of a little prick abusing and haranguing me for riding a bicycle in the park wasn’t really what I had been expecting at 5 a.m. As the angry man hurled invective at me, I felt my blood boil and the urge to smash him in the face was becoming almost uncontrollable. He screamed loudly, fiercely and incessantly as I tried to take photos of La Cangura amid the flowers. I envisaged…
Well, strong winds have put paid to a lot of my experiment in growing seeds from Australian native plants, and even fartilizer couldn’t help. Gale-force winds daily for pretty much the past week made life tough for the little seedlings on the patio at Kangaeroo Corner. Watering, care, and even magical powders were not enough to save the golden everlastings, with one or two sickly looking seedlings barely hanging on and the rest returning to their organic origins. Two of the three desert peas that seeded were blown over and destroyed. They’ll get an Aussie garden burial anyway, in some…
La Cangura is the name of my bike, a beautiful gunmetal and gold-trimmed machine from Orbea, a manufacturer from Spain, hence the name (which means The Kangaroo in English). She looks delightful in among the canola, the yellow hues of the bike and the flowers a wonderful match. Just wish I was having as much luck with my flowers and other plants in the Kangaeroo Corner garden. I’m relatively new to the gardening caper, only having really taken a great interest in it since Amazing Alex made the Aussie garden for us in March 2022. While the garden is, for…
Waking early gave Kangaeroo a slice of luck this morning, enabling a visit to Yakushiike Park in Machida before the jobsworths arrived there and booted him out for bringing his bike. The park is a delight, unbelievably located in the Tokyo suburbs. It has some spectacular wisteria growing on trellises, with a huge pond (the ike of Yakushiike) surrounded by a picturesque garden currently flourishing with bright new leaves. The wisteria are yet to reach full bloom, so there may be another visit before we’re finished this year.
April in Tokyo can get wet, but it can also be warm and dry. Unfortunately, today it’s the former. On the upside that means more photo opportunities and a slower pace to enjoy riding. Make no mistake, though, April is when spring really starts to, well, blossom in the Japanese capital. Not far from Kangaeroo’s home is the delightful Yakushiike Park. The park has some delightful archetypically Japanese scenes, with the crooked bridge over a pond, terraced rice paddies and beautifully manicured gardens. Flowers and new greenery sprout everywhere and days are longer and generally warmer. Then there’s the wind.…
