Sakura 桜

Cherry blossoms aren´t just beautiful to admire, they also symbolize clouds with their mass. The cherry blossom is also associated with the ephemeral nature of life, the transience of the blossoms, the beauty and death – it reminds us of mortality. Tokyo is now in full bloom and we´re getting ready for hanami 花見 then it´s associated with spring and party time. Enjoy!

Cut and trim, and trim again…

Still, there is time to trim the garden and garden days or weeks have been announced for some time and are almost over. For those of you familiar with the art of ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement) you know that trimming is an essential skill. Ma or space is crucial to the arrangement, so even in the garden. Negative space (the space around and between the subjects of an image) is particularly appealing if it forms an interesting shape, which might be incorporated in the arrangement as an artistic effect. Ma is a key element when it comes to artistic composition. 

There are similarities, right? Pruning in Japan is just as artistic and mostly revolves around controlling and shaping. It involves the selective removal of for instance branches, buds or roots. You do it to remove dead wood, shaping by controlling or directing growths and maintaining the health of the tree, to mention but a few of the reasons. Western style would typically be to use a saw or chainsaw, but here arborists and orchardists tend to use hand pruners, loppers and/or a smaller hand saw.

Rather brutal trim, don´t you think? Have a great weekend! 

Shiitake

Shiitake mushrooms
The shiitake mushroom is native to East Asia and have been cultivated for over 1000 years. These I got from an acquaintance of mine whose husband grows them as a hobby in their backyard. They typically grow on dead logs from the shii tree (Castanopsis cuspidata). These beauties can be used not only as food but also in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a medicinal remedy taken to prevent all kinds of ailments such as upper respiratory diseases, poor blood circulation, exhaustion, liver trouble and to boost qi. Best of all, it is believed to prevent premature aging. Sorry Chanel, but the recently purchased Hydra Beauty Crème Riche, hydration protection éclat – hydration protection radiance, will have to rest, at least for a trial period. As for whipping up a delicious dish, in Japan the mushrooms are often served in miso soups while in China we used to sauté them in vegetarian dishes, preferably with a sprinkle of garlic. In Thailand, the mushrooms were simply fried wok style. Today comes with beautiful weather – hope your weekend is great too!