Gardening – Gleanings in Buddha-Fields

Wisteria

Posting this a bit late (been busy with new puppy), but I wanted to share a tweet I saw from the famous Kasuga Grand Shrine, one of the holiest Shinto shrines in Japan. With all the attention on cherry blossoms and such, it’s sometimes easy to forget other flowers in bloom. The wisteria (fuji 藤Continue reading “Wisteria”

Winter Is Here

Winter is here in the Pacific Northwest! In the old Japanese calendar, this period is known as rittō (立冬, “first winter”). My gardening book mentioned that historically frost comes around here typically on November 17th, and I was quite surprised to see that it really happened: The trees around my son’s elementary school were beautifulContinue reading “Winter Is Here”

Plum Blossoms Are Here!

The Thundercloud plum trees in our yard finally blossomed, starting with the pink one: …. followed by the white one next: These pictures aren’t great, as I took them on top of a ladder with my arm stretched as high as I could while holding a mobile phone. But, I am happy with the results.Continue reading “Plum Blossoms Are Here!”

Spring On Its Way

It is mid-January, deep in “small cold and big cold”, but already signs of life are returning to the yard, and the world around us. Inspired, I found this old Japanese waka poem (originally posted in my other blog) composed by a female poet named kunaikyō (宮内卿), also called wakakusa no kunaikyō (若草の宮内卿). This poem,Continue reading “Spring On Its Way”

Oh Noes! Gardening Disaster

Welp, our little gardening project may have come to an end. Our bean plants became overgrown and top-heavy and finally one day the bamboo “teepee” we setup toppled over. I tried a few times to put it back up but each time the foundation was shaky and it would fall down hours later. I amContinue reading “Oh Noes! Gardening Disaster”

Gardening Success

In spite of all the crazy crap that 2020 has brought us, I am happy to report that my little bean garden has borne fruit. A lot of it! The bean stalks have recent started growing over the 6-foot bamboo stakes I had put in, and once the beans started growing from the dying, whiteContinue reading “Gardening Success”

Beans!

At last, my dear readers, my humble gardening project is beginning to bear fruit. Dad joke; you’re welcome. 😏 A few weeks ago, I posted some updated photos of my pole bean plants, which had grown much, much taller, but hadn’t bore fruit. Then I noticed little white buds on the plants, and I thoughtContinue reading “Beans!”

Gardening for Fun and Fun

Amidst parenting, reading about Japanese Buddhist History, and transitioning jobs, I have had some time under lockdown to take up a new pursuit: vegetable gardening! My family and I have almost 0 gardening experience, and no real luck or understanding of how it works, but I’ve always longed to turn a small plot around ourContinue reading “Gardening for Fun and Fun”