An organised garden tour is a bit of a mixed bag. You see many more gardens in the time available and have a helpful well-informed guide but the disadvantages are that you’re hurried, and often haven’t time to take all … Continue reading
Tokyo 1 – Hama-rikyu Gardens
I feel a bit embarrassed that on my trip to Japan I was only able to see a couple of the gardens of Tokyo, when in fact there are over thirty, many dating from the Edo period (1600-1867), some others … Continue reading
Kyoto 6 – Heian-ji shrine and Garden
The Heian-ji is something of an oddity on two accounts, firstly being a Shinto shrine of the late 19th century Meiji period and one of the newest shrines in Japan, but also (and unusually for a shrine) having a stroll … Continue reading
Kyoto 5 – Nanzen-ji Temple and Garden
It would be as difficult to write about St. Peter’s in Rome without mentioning the Catholic Church, as it is to write about Nanzen-ji without considering the Rinzai School of Zen. The Rinzai is one of the two main schools … Continue reading
Kyoto 4 – Ryoan-Ji Temple and Garden
I think future generations will look back and say that mass tourism was the curse of the early 21st century. Whereas people of my parents’ generation were happy to make themselves a home, carrying out DIY, and tending tomatoes in … Continue reading
Kyoto 3 – Nishikawa House and the Small Traditional Japanese Garden
Small London gardens have been a major source of interest and pleasure to me over much of my life and I have enjoyed designing a great many of them. The brief was almost always the same; all year-round interest, low … Continue reading