Thursday, June 3, 2010

June 3

We have this really ugly metal fence on concrete blocks around our property that was there when we bought the house. Though it is good for keeping children in the yard, it is not very attractive. I am trying to find ways to either cover it up, or use it to my advantage, or both. My latest experiment (after the failed sweet peas in containers) is to plant flowers in the holes in the concrete blocks next to the carpark. One of the flowers I am testing out (matsuba botan or moss rose, thank you Vicky) bloomed today...

I also tried shibazakura (on the left) but was too late for it to flower this year, we will see if it survives until next spring. If either work out, I will expand along the fence next year.
The lawn is really ready for rainy season to arrive...brown brown brown.

3 comments:

Vicky said...

Your flower in the blocks is a matsuba botan or moss rose, as I am sure you know. They die off here in Hokkaido but you might keep that till next year.

Is the other thing that didn't flower shibazakura? That is likely to grow into nice cushions on very poor soil so you could try more of that...

I love that you live next to a river and that you have expanded up the bank! Extra space for "free" and you keep it nice for all to enjoy, too.

Xana said...

Thank you for the names of the flowers, as always Vicky. I never know what I am planting, especially if the names are in kanji or I get them from the weird little flower shop with the grumpy staff who don't label anything.

And yes, it is a shibazakura! I will fix that. I was in a rush to catch up on my blog and starting just making flower names up of the top of my head, apparently.

We love living next to a river, too. All that space for pumpkins on our side of the embankment and raspberries, blackberries, trees and wild flowers on the river side. Plus, no one can build a high rise apt building to the south and cut off our sun. It does make our yard feel so much bigger, and less like we are living in the city. For though we are not downtown, we aren't really as inaka as we might seem either (though I suppose it is all relative).

I would really like to get a canoe. We are next to a bridge, so the perfect place to "dock" it. They are so expensive in Japan, though. Maybe someday.

Xana said...
This comment has been removed by the author.