Peony gazing in Ueno Park in Tokyo

Entrance to the peony garden in Ueno Park in Tokyo.

Last week was our spring break and we spent it in Tokyo, almost exactly two years since our previous trip there. This year's spring had been warm, so all things green had developed a bit further than then. Still, we managed to catch loads of sakura trees in full bloom and even sit under then, with falling petals swirling down like snowflakes around us.

Paper parasols are used to protect the flowers from too much sun - such a typically Japanese, beautiful way to do things...

 Old ladies taking a rest in the shade.

More about the cherries later; another glorious favorite of the Japanese, the tree peony, was also just coming to full bloom in the gardens. While strolling around Ueno Park, the oldest of Tokyo's many public gardens, we popped into an area specifically dedicated to these sumptuous bloomers. It felt like we were transported back in time; the wooden signs showing the names, and the bamboo shelters and paper parasols protecting the flowers were just like in some old pictures I'd seen, depicting "peony gazing" in Japan during long gone eras.

A hand-colored 19th century photo of ladies gazing peonies in Tokyo - maybe even in the Ueno Park?
Tree peonies are thought to have arrived to Japan from China already in the 8th century, but their cultivation became widely popular first in the Edo Period (1603 to 1868). Due to this long history, they are often depicted in visual arts and poetry, representing good fortune as well as a righteous and noble spirit.

Nothing seems to have changed in the arrangement of the flowers during the last hundred years...

Mainly older Japanese ladies and gentlemen were admiring the huge peony blooms, frequently stopping to discuss their specifics along their route around the rised flower beds. Many of them took countless pictures of the flowers, with huge lenses for recording their minute details. It felt just like they'd never seen such beauties before, even if their ages clearly showed that it couldn't be the case. This was all about the peonies and nothing else; very few other plants were allowed to mingle and distract from the stars of the show.

My favorite old uncle - first, he examined the flowers carefully, then took what seemed like thousands of photos of them with his special lens...

A couple of weeks, and the fleeting glory of the peonies is over; just like the sakura, maybe the favorite flower of the Japanese, they are such a great reminder of how nothing is everlasting.

Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi - the most sacred of the sacred trees

Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, a direct descendant of the Bodhi tree under which the Buddha reached enlightenment.

I've always loved trees, so I wasn't surprised when my Tai Chi Master told during our first lesson that trees contain positive chi (a kind of a 'life force' in Daoism). Even more, he told that just being close to a large old tree will transfer some of that life force into one, which sounds quite natural to me. After all, the huge old oak in my garden in Saltsjöbaden has always seemed to radiate protection, like it would be tapping into some kind of a secret underground force with its deep root system.

Stone walls and a golden railing surround the tree; originally, these were built to keep the tree safe from hungry elephants and other 'predators'.

This explains partly why seeing the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, the most sacred of all living sacred trees in Buddhism, was nonnegotiable while traveling in Sri Lanka - even if the huge flooding in the northern parts of the island almost managed to keep us from it. But I'm very happy we managed to get there; the sacred Bodhi of Anuradhapura definitely seemed to have an aura of that special 'life force' around it.

 

So why so sacred? It all goes back to the birth of Buddhism. The founder of the religion was born in sixth century BC as Prince Siddhartha Gautama. After years of spiritual searching, he finally reached enlightenment after meditating intensively under a tree in a place called Bodh Gaya in Northern India. From then on, he became known as the Buddha - and befittingly, the tree was renamed the 'Bodhi' - the tree of enlightenment. 

 

Golden supports (and some less fancy ones) protect the remaining branch of the tree from circa 288 BC. The rest of the tree consists of younger branches, grown from cuttings from the original tree (several cuttings of different ages are propagated on the site,to ensure continuity even in the future).

 

Bodhi is traditionally translated into English as 'enlightenment', but literally it means 'awakened'. The verbal root "budh" means 'to awaken' - hence the Buddha, the 'Awakened One', or the 'Enlightened One'. A sacred tree of not just for Buddhists but even for Hindus and Jains, the Bodhi was aptly named Ficus religiosa  in the Linnean binomial nomenclature, and is known even by the names of peepal/peepul and the bo-tree. 

 

The old Bodhi is sacred and highly revered; whole families from tiniest babies to grandparents came with flower offerings and said their prayers in front of the huge tree.

 

The Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura is said to be the oldest living historical tree in the world, with a well-documented past. It was first brought as a cutting in a golden vessel from the original Tree of Enlightenment in Bodh Gaya to Sri Lanka by nun Sanghamitta, who was a daughter of Emperor Ashoka. After spending a couple of years in its golden container, it was planted in 288 BC in the Mahameghavana Park in Anuradhapura by King Devanampiyatissa. The original Bodhi in Bodh Gaya has since died, and the tree growing there is a cutting taken from Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura - so the circle of rebirth continues...

During its lifetime - an astonishing 23 centuries - the Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi has seen empires and kingdoms rise and fall. It has been ravaged by storms and attacked by elephants (hence the stone wall with golden railings), almost been overtaken by the jungle, and even seen a massacre  in 1985, when the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelan ('Tamil Tigers') killed some 170 monks and nuns by its feet. But even if only one large branch of the original tree remains, it is still deeply revered by Buddhist of all ages and all nationalities as a living reminder of the life and teachings of the historical Buddha.

Beautiful flowers sold outside the to the devotees outside the site of the Jaya Siri Maha Bodhi - pink and white lotuses, and blue waterlilies (Nymphaea stellata) that are the wonderful national flower of Sri Lanka. Flowers fade very fast, so they are meant to remind the devotees of the impermanency of all things and to inspire them to think of the virtues and teachings of the Buddha.

 

The heavyweight of orchids in full bloom

Back in Singapore, we got a roaming welcome from the largest orchid in the world, the Tiger orchid. In full bloom only once in every 20 years, it is for the moment putting up a huge show at the Singapore Botanic Gardens. If you are around, try not to miss it: 35 long stems are carrying over 50 flowers each, which means that more than 1750 large and fragrant orchid flowers are swaying in the wind  close to the Tanglin gate of the gardens!

 

 

The Tiger orchid (Grammatophyllum speciosum) is named as the markings on the flowers are thought to resemble the stripes of a tiger (leopards are not native to these areas, if you think that it would make more sense). A real heavyweight of orchids (or any other flowers), a mature plant can actually weight more than one ton (!), so it usually grows at the "fork" of the lower tree branches - higher up, it would probably take down the whole tree, or at least the branch is was growing on.

 

This huge, fragrant orchid is native to Singapore, but has unfortunately been extinct in the wild since about year 1900. The National Parks organization has made conservation efforts to reintroduce the plant on the island, and has luckily had some success even in the city center close to Orchard and Alexandra Roads, and more expectedly, in some remote parks (of course, nothing is really remote in little Singapore...). As I said, try make an effort to see it if you are around; it is quite special to see the largest orchid of the world in full bloom!

Mangroves, low tide

Mangroves at low tide - Nikoi Island in Indonesia.

 

This has nothing to do with the usual subject of my blog - I don't think anyone has ever planted mangroves in their gardens... Just a couple of pictures from Nikoi Island in Indonesia, very close to Singapore, where we spent a couple of days last week. I couldn't resist walking around the little island while the tide was low, and was quite taken by these sculptural plants on one side of the island, pushing through the smallest of openings in the cement hard coral reef exposed by the tide (the beaches on the other side of the island were quite paradise-like, as you can almost guess from the last picture where the pure, white sand slowly takes over from the corals...).

Only a short post, as I'm having a huge cold since a couple of days back - even if having a 'cold' sounds like a complete linguistic anachronism (is there such a concept? or is it anatopism? never mind, my brain resist thinking for the moment...) in the tropics of Singapore. Yesterday, the outside temperature of 38C matched exactly my fever levels, and while briefly walking outside, it was difficult to know where my head ended and the surrounding hot air started. So no more blogging today, just a cup of tea and hopefully a fast recovery. Amazing mangroves, though.

 

 

Sakura ice cream by the Philosopher's Path

Philosopher's Path does sound poetically ancient, don't you think? In reality, it is one of the newer attractions of northeastern Kyoto, built as recently as during the Meiji era (everything is relative, of course, as even this is now way over 100 years back). And instead of some venerable Zen philosopher, it is named after Professor Nishido Kitaro, an influential 20th century philosopher, who used to do his daily meditation by walking this charming stone-paved stretch that follows a narrow water canal and is lined by hundreds of cherry trees.

Philosopher's Path gets very busy during the hanami season, with thousands tourists - most of them Japanese - wandering through the three kilometer walk. All of them admire the sakura blossoms, searching for the most handsome blooms to catch on their cameras and the best places for the mandatory poses for their family albums. Small cafés cater for the crowds, offering drinks from green tea to sake and Asahi beer, and anything in between. The walk passes several temples and shrines like the Ginkaku-ji, Honen-in, Otoyo Shrine and Eikan-do Zenrin-ji, making it a perfect destination for a whole day of discoveries.

In our case, despite the amazing blooms, adding even one small temple would have been stretching my girl's limits on that hot and sunny afternoon, so we just settled for an aptly-flavored pink sakura ice cream, sitting the shade of the cherries and watching the crowds go past. Our own perfect little hanami-party, we thought.

The spirited city wilderness of Meiji Jingu

One of the stone arch bridges in the Meiji shrine's forest, with sunlight dancing on layers of dense greenery behind.

Wandering around the paths of Meiji shrine's forest, it is easy to forget that one is in the heart of one of world's busiest cities.

With its namesake Shinto shrine and the Gyoen imperial gardens incorporated in its vast area, this forest was created in honor of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken as a place for their souls to dwell in after they passed away in 1912 and 1914.

With 100 000 saplings of different varieties from all over Japan, the grounds were carefully planted by hand to form an eternal forest that recreates itself. Today, the saplings have both matured and reproduced, creating layers upon layers of luxurious green that reach to the sun and sway gently in the wind, muffling effectively the sounds of the daily Tokyo life around.  Edited as the forest is - most of the trees are pruned so skillfully that it takes a lot of observing to detect it - there is an air of remarkable tranquility, or even wilderness, while walking under the vast canopies.

According to Shinto belief Kami, the divine spirit, can be found in mythology, nature and in human beings. Rather generously, the number of these spirits is unlimited, which explains the many Shinto temples from the tiniest to the huge that form such an integral part of the Japanese landscape. With a magnificent resting place as this, I can imagine not just the Emperor's and Empress's souls wandering around the forest of Meiji shrine, but also countless little other Kamis fluttering around the sakura blossoms and newly sprung leaves of the Japanese maples.

 The inner yard at the Meiji Jingu (which means shrine in Japanese), with a large camphor tree on the left.

The Meiji shrine is a popular venue for Shinto weddings; while we visited, a wedding party entered the shrine, all dressed in beautiful traditional Japanese clothes. 

Another camphor tree, surrounded by a wall of prayers left by visitors.  

 

A teahouse in Gyoen, the imperial garden, with strictly pruned mounds of azaleas in front.

 

 

In the Azalea garden, large arching shrubs were already starting to bloom.

Emperor Meiji designed the Gyoen garden, and Empress Shoken enjoyed fishing in this large pond. I wonder how she fished - with a rod and worms? Somehow, a fishing Empress is a funny but quite sympathetic thought...

 

View from the further end of the large pond - with large Japanese maples sending out their delicate branches above the water.

The Iris Garden, containing over 1500 plants of 150 varieties in different blue shades... when in bloom in early to mid June, they form a river of flowers - surely an amazing sight that I would love to see one day. (mental note: would love to build a river of irises in my garden, some day.)

One of the walkways in the shadow of the century old, now mature trees of the Meiji Jingu's forest. 

 

Glories of the morning

From my daily 7 am walk - coastal morning glories living up to their names.

 

A psychedelic Heritage Tree

Mindanao gums, Eucalyptus deglupta, are native to Papua New Guinea.

 

I caught this amazing Mindanao gum this morning at the nearby Katong Park. It seemed to be burning in the warm morning light, its bark peeling like it wanted to throw off its clothes in the heat. Quite psychedelic.

 

As rock'n'roll as it might look, it is actually a Heritage Tree, one of the lucky ones to be included Singapore's eminent program for protecting especially "valuable specimens" -  with their worth calculated in terms of historical value, age, and size. This Mindanao scores on each of the criteria. Besides being over a century old and having a girth of over 3.4 meters, it is also historically significant, as it once grew at the Katong Fort that existed here during the British colonial days. The Fort is gone, the tree still stays.

 

There are currently 199 Heritage Trees in Singapore. Maybe I should go and portray them all?  

 

A soft cocoon on the Mindanao, the butterfly waiting to fly out from its shelter.

 

Auspicious beginnings for the Year of the Snake

A dragon-heart mandarin is considered a doubly auspicious plant as its name combines dragon, a symbol for power, strength and good luck, and mandarin, which is a symbol for riches and good fortune. I couldn't resist it, so now it is bearing both flowers and fruit at the same time on my balcony. We'll see if any good luck and fortunes will follow!

 

On Sunday, February 10th 2013, Chinese people all over the world will say goodbye to the Dragon and welcome the New Year of the Snake, one of the twelve animals inhabiting the Chinese zodiac. While in Western Culture the snake often represents betrayal and evil, in Chinese culture it quite surprisingly is a symbol of wisdom and kindness. According to an old Chinese saying "A snake in the house means the family will never starve" - so the snake is seen as a good omen instead of a horrible pest (maybe it scared the rats away - who knows?). The shedding of snake's skin denotes renewal and rebirth in life, and it is believed that those coming in contact with a person born in the snake year will gain greater vitality and energy. In mythology, the snake represents healing and renewal, so the Year of the Snake is a good time for inward reflection and transformation through release of past blockages.

Small paper packets like these are used to give money as a New Year's gifts to children. In art, still lifes and other arrangements, mandarins and oranges add the meaning of "speedily"; I was told (I can't read or speak any type of Chinese) that with the characters of "luck" (left) and "good fortune, happiness" (right), mandarins add the meaning of "speedily". Mandarins of course, are themselves a symbol for riches and good fortune, and the left packet has even small gold ingots symbolizing wealth scattered around the mandarin fruit. Layers upon layers of meanings to be read, even in the most simple objects as these. 

 

The New Year is the most important traditional holiday for the Chinese all over the world, and and so for the large majority of Singaporeans who are of Chinese origins. Most families try celebrate the holidays together, often travelling long distances in order to do so. Countless traditions and customs are connected to this celebration: special foods are prepared for the different times and days of the holiday and houses are cleansed and the floors swept to drive away any lingering ill luck and to make way for good fortune. New clothes are worn to ensure a clean, new start for the year, presents are bought and given to ensure prosperous new beginnings, and firecrackers are fired to scare off the evil spirits. 

 

Chinese lucky charms are no just decorative... The charm in the left has a tiny glass "cabbage" in Chinese is a homophone to cash and money, and therefore symbolizes wealth. An old-fashioned coin above it adds to the auspiciousness. The second charm has a green and a golden mandarin with a gold ingot above them - both are symbols for riches, wealth and good fortune. The charm in the right has a gourd, which represents the power of healing or protection against disease. And the cloud pattern of the fabric under them is one of the oldest decorative motifs in Chinese art; clouds represent the heaven and the word cloud is homophone "good fortune" (are you getting exhausted by now...?)

 

Decorations for the Chinese New Year are important part of the celebration, and loaded with auspicious omens and symbols to entice the gods and to bring good luck, health and prosperity. Many of them have been chosen as their names are homophones for something desirable, like one of the most common, the mandarin. The Chinese character for mandarin consists of two components that mean "plant or tree", and "auspicious, lucky", so the mandarin is considered as an "auspicious plant" (the Western convention is to translate this to orange, but the plant the character really refers to is botanically a mandarin type of orange). And as if this would not be enough, both its golden color and round form are also considered propitious, and serve as symbols for riches and good fortune. I'm not a very superstitious person, but I went and bought three dragon-heart mandarin plants (including the one in the first picture), so there's should be no end to the auspiciousness in our lives in the coming year. May the Year of the Snake bring prosperity, luck and health to you all.

The local nursery has gone wild with all things orange... expensive arrangements with mandarins fill the ground; to the left, high mandarin plants have been trimmed into eight separate tiers (eight is a lucky number for the Chinese). The plants are decorated with red bows (color red is a symbol of joy and protects against evil), and with symbols for good fortune (fu is the Chinese character) and surplus (the fish, as in having enough to eat with leftovers). The paper pineapple lanterns are symbols for prosperity, and all shops have several of them hanging from the ceilings this time of the year to secure good profit in the coming year. Below, a sea of small mandarin plants - oh, the agony of choosing only one...

 

 

The Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay

From the oldest to the newest in one single week... Gardens by the Bay, Singapore's latest and most ambitious investment in green spaces opened for a months ago and has since been wondered and admired over all around the world. Just search the name and it pops up in whichever media you might wish.

Of course I needed to see this bold new park. Substantial and built with enormous resources, it is located on whopping 250 acres between the Marina Bay Sands casino, entertainment and business district and the Straits of Singapore. In addition to large, themed outdoor gardens with the much buzzed Super Trees (more about them in my next post), it also has two large conservatories that showcase vegetation from all around the world.  

While I visited, the unrelenting sun kept reminding me about who is the boss in these equatorial areas. After a short attempt, I decided to leave the outdoor areas to another time - if visiting daytime, do condescend to sitting in a large golf-buggy looking vehicle with a roof; you will dearly need the shade it offers. Instead, I headed to the cool and moist Cloud Forest dome, eagerly drinking in the soothing shelter it provided.

The Cloud Forest dome displays plants from tropical mountainous areas from heights of 1000 to 3000 meter. A whole 35 meter high mountain has been built inside it, with water cascading down and creating a misty environment for the plants to thrive. A suspended walkway lingers through the different areas and inside its internal caves; educational signs and multimedia presentations tell about the habitats and the effects of our behaviour on nature - not always a very cheering experience, but then, there's no reason for shutting one's eyes from the sad truth either. Greenery and flowering plants weave their leaves on the sides of the mountain; you can still see the shallow planters their are housed in, but I'm sure in a couple of months they will form an uninterrupted tapestry of varying leaf forms and colours.

It is amazing how a small country like Singapore with just a bit over 5 million inhabitants had the courage and resources to build a green space the Gardens by the Bay. I can't imagine many countries that would put away all millions needed to complete and then maintain the areas; the scale surpasses anything I've seen within the garden area so far, and this is just the beginning - a second part of the gardens will follow in a couple of years. But then, Singapore seems to be seriously committed to its slogan "City in a Garden" and as I noted in my previous post, sees green spaces as an important mean to enrich the quality of life of its citizens. And artificial as it is, Gardens by the Bay is also hoped and expected to create public interest to the remaining mangrove groves and other natural areas of greenery.

As a park, it is the early days for both the Cloud Forest dome and Gardens by the Bay as a whole. Most of the plants, however impressively large when planted, need time to develop their canopies to provide shade and to weave together into a coherent whole. Compared with the Botanical Gardens, the oldest of Singaporean public gardens, Gardens by the Bay gives an absolutely spectacular but at the same time quite hard impression to the visitor; there's too much dramatic architecture and grandeur, too little unattended freedom and soothing greenery. Nevertheless, in my opinion it is an amazing and bold display of the confidence that Singapore and Asia show for themselves and for their future, and therefore I would already call it a "must" for any garden lover visiting or living in Singapore. Just don't forget your sunnies, your hat and your water bottle!