A touch of zen

I have finally made it to Tofukuji temple in Kyoto. It's famous for its zen gardens, but I loved the wooden walks over the maples, the unexpected bog garden, and the pond full of sacred lotus more than any raked gravel beds. 

And then it rained

Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan: A nod to my growing hosta obsession. 

A small comment on lawns.

I never realised before just how important an expanse of green is to the Australian psyche until we were unable to locate one for our babes to run on, and when we finally did find a beautiful lawn it was off-limits (this glorious verdant free space with accompanying potted sacred lotus is Todai-Ji in Nara, Japan). 

Note to self: Surprised at the very average size of the pots those lotus are growing in. Must try to do that myself. 

Rose haul 2014

It's like Christmas! Fourteen new beauties here, the only one missing from my original order is 'Mme Berade' as it was out of stock. I'm now tossing up if I should seek further, or replace it with something else (top contenders are 'Lady Hillingdon' or 'Lady Huntingfield'). I've managed to plant all but three of these plants since Saturday, but its not easy with a poor sniffly limpet-baby boy. 

Rust and slugs

Hollyhocks in winter suffer more than their fair share of woes.