A Gardening Travelogue to Japan and Back
Season 5, Episode 19, March 22, 2023
(One of Dee’s cherry blossoms.)
In this week’s episode, Dee and I discussed flowering cherry trees, Japanese vegetables, and The Sakura Obsession.
It all started when I found a book of haiku poetry in my personal library… a book I bought at a giant book sale several years ago.
(The kind of book sale held in a giant building where you browse through tables and tables and more tables of used books for sale, where if you don’t find a book on a table that interests you, you can dig through boxes and boxes of more books under the tables. Yes, that kind of book sale.)
Anyway, I probably paid a dollar, maybe two dollars, for Haiku Harvest: Japanese Haiku Series IV, translation by Peter Beilenson and Henry Behn (1962 - Peter Pauper Press). Then I tossed it on a stack of books in a back bedroom, where it languished until I decided to “do something” about all the books around here.
Just as I was about to toss my new-found book of haiku poetry onto my donate/sell pile, I opened it up and read a few of the poems. Right then, I decided we should sprinkle some haiku quotes throughout a podcast episode. Then I remembered someone recommended that I read the book we put on the bookshelf, which is about cherry trees in Japan, amongst other things.
Faster than you can say, “edamame,” Dee and I worked out a whole episode around flowering cherry trees, Japanese vegetables, and The Sakura Obsession.
We have just a few links to share.
If you want to know more about flowering cherry trees, Garden Design has some good info on their website.
If you are interested in growing Japanese vegetables from seed, we recommend you go to the True Leaf Market website (affiliate link). Once there, search “Japanese vegetables” and you’ll see all the types they have seeds for.
On our bookshelf is The Sakura Obsession: The incredible story of the plant hunter who saved Japan's cherry blossom by Naoko Abe (Amazon link). (I couldn’t find it on Bookshop.org but my local library has a copy (which I promise to return in a few days) and audio versions are available from Audible and Libro.fm.)
The Sakura Obsession is a good listen/read that will take you to Japan and England and tell you about some interesting history, culture, and cherry tree info along the way. The author, Naoko Abe, has a website that you might find of interest.
In our dirt, we were still going on about flowering cherry trees. ‘Tis the season! There’s a website that tells all you need to know about when cherry trees will bloom in Washington D.C. (Hint: This week.) There are also several websites that provide information about cherry blossom time in Japan.
We also briefly discussed Dee’s trip to Texas to see the bluebonnets and other wildflowers in bloom. She returned with several plants (surprise!) including a salvia that she says you can only get in Texas, Salvia 'Augusta Duelberg'. She also bought a new phlox from Proven Winners called Luminary Ultraviolet which I now need. I hope my local greenhouse friends are growing it!
Thanks for reading all the way to the end. Now click on the link, prepare for take-off, and join us in Japan, England, and all points in between.
And comment if you’ve ever been to Japan or have a flowering cherry tree in your garden or would like to!
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For more info on Carol visit her website. Visit her blog May Dreams Gardens.
For more info on Dee, visit her website. Visit her blog Red Dirt Ramblings.