Archive for the ‘out and about’ Category
Tokyo bonsai’d gardens
- bonsai’d pine – several ropes and bamboo posts help to force the form
- Bonsai’d pines along path to the Detached Palace
- bonsai’d pines in pots in front of a skyscraper
- bonsai’d pines in front of residence
- bonsai’d everything on path to shrine
- bonsai’d pines around shrine
- Bonsai’d pines in front of residence
- bonsai’d pine – several ropes and bamboo posts help to force the form
This first visit was in winter, our next will be in the summer and I’ll take more garden photos and visit lots of botanical gardens.
Every plant is bonsai’d in Tokyo, not just small potted plants, but 30′ trees and everything in between. No plant is safe.
Formal gardens in Tokyo
- Garden along a city path
- Garden along a city path
- Garden walkway through the city
- Formal garden at a shrine
- Formal garden at residence
- Small garden at a shrine
- Section of the formal garden at the hotel
- Section of the formal garden at the hotel
- Section of the formal garden at the hotel
- Section of the formal garden at the hotel
- Section of the formal garden at the hotel
- Section of the formal garden at the hotel
We made our first visit to Tokyo in the winter, our next visit will be in warmer weather and I’ll be visiting botanical gardens then. But for now here are a few photos from formal gardens about the city.
We were surprised to see so little bamboo. It is usually in patches about 20′x20′ and along the highway but rarely a part of the garden.
Every plant in the garden is bonsai’d. Here we tell people not to mushroom their shrubs or amputate their crapes, yet every plant in every Tokyo garden we saw was heavily pruned.
Along pathways tree branches are forced to grow across and down and supported with ropes and boards.
No plant is left untouched.
Tokyo pocket gardens
- Gardens are often only a foot or two around the edge of a home
- City yard gardens tend toward lots of bonsai’d pines
- Sometimes the gardens are all in pots, especially along residential streets
- Potted gardens are common along residential city streets
- City pocket garden in Tokyo
- Vegetable garden along sidewalk in front of residence in Tokyo
- Residential garden on Tokyo street
- Residential garden on Tokyo street
It was winter on our first visit to Tokyo, so we’re saving the botanical garden visits until our summer visit.
In the older residential areas of Tokyo the homes are 1-3 stories tall and the sidewalks in front of the homes have pocket gardens in front of the homes, often less than a foot deep. Clusters of potted plants are common as are tiny vegetable plots.




























