Tokyo DIY Gardening Hands-on gardening for a crowded city
Dead Space
Riverbank Community Garden in Tsukishima
A great use of dead space, allowing people in a crowded neighborhood to have outdoor plants.
Lush Potted Alley
Permanence of impermanent structure; Relaxed hiding space; Natural cooling; Shade.
No Parking in Potplants
A bit of greenification helps keep this inner-city commerce spot free of parked bicycles.
A tree of death outside Family Mart
a tree of death, made of dozens of cigarette cartons and festooned with Christmas lights
Breeze Block Parking Pots
Breeze blocks that form the edging of a carpark double as sturdy plant pots.
Blooming Corner Container Garden
Made of a whole variety of containers – some purchased, some styrofoam coolers put to fresh use – it was a bright spot on an otherwise cement-filled busy street.
Classic Pot Garden in Shiba/Mita
Whether intentional or not, the impressive scale of this garden creates a natural security system…..
S-Hooks are Tokyo’s super glue
this hanging pot relies on an S-hook to attach itself to the existing built environment
Dead Space Brick Planter
A few bricks in the right place can help turn dead into living + edible space.
Replacing Dead Urban Spaces with Living Habitat
Contrary to popular opinion, cities only become devoid of natural life by active suppression…..
No space for fruit tree? Check this out!
So many city dwellers think they have no space to grow anything. Recently I posted photos of a persimmon tree near my apartment that is three stories tall and full of fruit. I went back to take a shot of its trunk. Actually, it turns out that there are two trees growing in a space [...]
Potted plant in bicycle basket
Did the bicycle owner leave the potted plant in the basket, or did a stranger deposit it there?
Yotsuya Dead, Green, Space
Gregory Robertson is interested in this dead, green, wild space in Yotsuya….
Fall perennial border in pots on curbside
despite the lack of ground soil and space . . I admire the gardener’s generosity to passing pedestrians and bicyclists
Guest photo from Hiyoko Imai
Much of the daily fabric of urban life, instead, feels like this photo: a bunch of stuff bolted on to other stuff
Beloperone guttata or little shrimp plant (コエビソウ) growing between 2 walls
Tokyo’s ample rainfall allows plants to thrive in the most unlikely places.
Trained Creeping Fence
Coffee shop owner appropriates dead space, fence and creeper to create green lane.
Protecting or Fortifying?
Innocently protecting weeds, or fortifying scarce urban space against undesired use?
Expressways divide neighborhoods and repel people
These massive structures are the opposite of the small lanes that make Tokyo feel so village-like and livable.
Hanging plant decorates fence in front of empty lot
My guess is that both of these plant interventions. . . were created by neighbors getting tired of seeing the empty lot and its weeds
Aerial Climber
The role of built environmental artifacts/components will increasingly be that of trellis.
Neighborhood sunflowers
I love how these sunflowers are growing at the intersection of two small streets, and how the round flowers echo the larger, convex street mirror. The flowers grow in a tiny scrap of soil just outside the wall around a residence. After preparing the image, I realized that I took a similar photo last year. [...]
Shinjuku Ward Office greening
sidewalk awning with minimal space and maintenance, impacts thousands coming to ward office
Semi-wild, semi-cultivated space in Yoyogi
in between two train tracks, an elevated overpass, and a convenience store . . .
Narrow Trackside Colour in Rocks
Rocks and concrete blocks mark out narrow marginal space for a bright shock of colour.
Small building in Shinjuku covered in vines
This small building in a Shinjuku commercial district is buried in vines
Dense and mature sidewalk garden in Chiyoda
The planting is amazingly thick, creating a green wall between the sidewalk and the large boulevard. . .
Small ledge for green curtain & laundry
Another great example of multi-function outdoor spaces that are incredibly small
Growing rice in buckets at Waseda university
I am sure that tending rice in the city makes residents appreciate eating rice even more