Garden Types
Japanese version of text for Italian Collabora LIMNO
Apr 04, 2013 | Category: Articles/Downloads, Edible, Inspiration, Other Uses for Gardens, Public Projects
Diverse use of family land/carpark.
Mar 14, 2013 | Category: Dead Space, Edible
Affixing small hangers and substantial brackets to increase the plant population.
Mar 14, 2013 | Category: Community Gardening, Decoration, Hanging Gardens, Inspiration
Weary commuters mold the organic infrastructure of their neighbourhoods.
Mar 14, 2013 | Category: Dead Space, Other Uses for Gardens
Unique reuse of traditional materials.
Mar 14, 2013 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Decoration, Inspiration
S-hook and hanger on powerpole climbing peg makes for a stable hanging garden.
Mar 13, 2013 | Category: Hanging Gardens
Chopstick support.
Mar 13, 2013 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Edible
Cramped balconies nurture lush microclimates
Mar 13, 2013 | Category: Balcony Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Hand drawn modifications to a public park map detail suggested exit routes.
Mar 13, 2013 | Category: Community Gardening, Play
Unexpected care for run-down suburban dead space.
Mar 13, 2013 | Category: Dead Space, Decoration
This well tended local neighbourhood park garden is actually a quiet memorial to a deceased spouse.
Mar 13, 2013 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Community Gardening, Other Uses for Gardens
Appropriation, connection.
Mar 13, 2013 | Category: Decoration, Edible
Simple and novel solution.
Mar 13, 2013 | Category: Green Walls, Hanging Gardens
“Understanding fruit layers can help make urban life more social, resilient and delicious”
Feb 28, 2013 | Category: Articles/Downloads, Edible, Inspiration, News, Public Projects
Out of season fox face tied to a tree add a splash of colour to a central Harajuku street.
Feb 28, 2013 | Category: Decoration
An easy hanging garden created by hanging a light planter from a tree branch.
Feb 28, 2013 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Inventive and strongly practical use/reuse of a familiar and cheap mass-produced item.
Feb 28, 2013 | Category: Caring for your Plants
I wish that governments and residents would begin to de-pave Tokyo, and it’s great to see that domestic plants are not waiting for us to act.
Feb 28, 2013 | Category: Curbside, Independent Plants
In the world’s largest mega-city, even a crack in the sidewalk can be a place to grow a flower.
Feb 28, 2013 | Category: Curbside, Inspiration
Low-cost greenery to improve pedestrian spaces.
Feb 28, 2013 | Category: Decoration
A bit of life and color in a tight inner-city driveway.
Feb 28, 2013 | Category: Tiered Gardens, Vertical Gardens
A great use of dead space, allowing people in a crowded neighborhood to have outdoor plants.
Feb 27, 2013 | Category: Community Gardening, Dead Space
That’s a lot of flowers for one tiny space.
Feb 27, 2013 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
No matter the value of the real estate, the gardening fixes tend to be the same……
Feb 27, 2013 | Category: Trees
Tethered giants in Shibuya backstreet.
Feb 27, 2013 | Category: Decoration, Independent Plants, Vertical Gardens
A great way to create extra gardening space without encroaching on the narrow street or cramped inner courtyard.
Feb 27, 2013 | Category: Vertical Gardens
A stable and designerly solution
Feb 03, 2013 | Category: Vertical Gardens
Decorative charm and creative practical application.
Feb 03, 2013 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Community Gardening, Decoration, Inspiration, Tools of the Trade
Horizontal garden hanging on a laundry pole.
Feb 03, 2013 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
It’s interesting to see a material that usually acts as a pest deterrent incorporated into the construction of the garden.
Feb 03, 2013 | Category: Community Gardening
Fine-grained care and human(e) attachment
Feb 03, 2013 | Category: Community Gardening, Curbside, Dead Space, Decoration, Edible
A bed of succulents created in the tightest of spaces – A sensitive, practical and elegant solution.
Feb 03, 2013 | Category: Curbside
Chains and hooks and nails and pots….
Feb 03, 2013 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Feasting on foraged Tokyo treats!
Nov 01, 2012 | Category: Edible, Inspiration, News, Public Projects, Walks
Diversity, Vibrance, Tolerance
Oct 18, 2012 | Category: Articles/Downloads, Parks, Play
Rainy ramble in far west Tokyo suburbs
Oct 09, 2012 | Category: Articles/Downloads, Caring for your Plants, Curbside, Dead Space, Inspiration, Walks
Biophilic encounter on commuter train
Oct 04, 2012 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Inspiration
Early 2003 example from Nagoya
Oct 02, 2012 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Decoration, Tools of the Trade
Notes from memory-infused morning glories
Oct 02, 2012 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Decoration
Autumn treats, taught by a tantric yogi
Oct 02, 2012 | Category: Edible, Garden Types, Parks
Local gambling zone offers flowers to regulars & neighbours
Oct 01, 2012 | Category: Decoration, Garden Types, Retail
DRM-infused code candies. Rich subterranean soils.
Jul 01, 2012 | Category: Articles/Downloads, Dead Space, Edible, Inspiration
Courtesy of Edith Prakoso
Jun 28, 2012 | Category: Decoration, Inspiration
Jam, Cake, Smoothies, Snacking
Jun 15, 2012 | Category: Edible, Other Uses for Gardens
Delicious City-Infused Bread
Jun 15, 2012 | Category: Edible, Other Uses for Gardens
Casual colour.
Jun 08, 2012 | Category: Decoration, Independent Plants
Definition and practical value.
Jun 08, 2012 | Category: Curbside, Other Uses for Gardens
City infrastructure fosters independent green.
May 25, 2012 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Independent Plants, Roof Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Upper class implants
May 25, 2012 | Category: Edible, Inspiration
Easy growing.
May 20, 2012 | Category: Edible, Green Walls
Plastic twine = essential Tokyo gardening material.
May 20, 2012 | Category: Caring for your Plants
Independent decoration
May 20, 2012 | Category: Curbside, Independent Plants
Twist ties + Stakes = Dense Street Bouquet
May 16, 2012 | Category: Decoration, Inspiration
Many of Tokyo’s residential neighborhood parks are poorly maintained and under-used……
Mar 03, 2012 | Category: Articles/Downloads, Parks, Play
A chance encounter up high.
Feb 08, 2012 | Category: Inspiration, Roof Gardens, Video
The essence of Tokyo DIY gardening.
Jan 10, 2012 | Category: Caring for your Plants
Suburban colour.
Jan 10, 2012 | Category: Decoration
Ocean-in-Suburbs
Dec 05, 2011 | Category: Decoration
Beautiful, out of control hobby.
Nov 21, 2011 | Category: Roof Gardens
Everyday driveway gardening.
Nov 21, 2011 | Category: Tiered Gardens
All the apartments have nets, perhaps to deter birds, yet few are so well used.
Oct 03, 2011 | Category: Balcony Gardens, Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
Casual, unplanned, resilient.
Sep 26, 2011 | Category: Curbside
Dead space growth.
Sep 21, 2011 | Category: Dead Space
Informal boundary in sticks and string.
Sep 21, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Dead Space
Care and attachment in a desolate landscape.
Sep 06, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Dead Space, Decoration, Inspiration
The honesty and community of Tokyo’s walkable suburbs.
Sep 06, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Other Uses for Gardens
I love the variety of plants, and the way the garden adds onto what is already there.
Sep 06, 2011 | Category: Vertical Gardens
Gardening by a green road.
Sep 05, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Dead Space
A perfect complement to hyper-real neon surroundings appears with no human planning
Sep 04, 2011 | Category: Independent Plants
Variety of plants and impeccable maintenance
Aug 31, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Curbside, Inspiration
Bricks and all kinds of junk.
Aug 25, 2011 | Category: Tiered Gardens
Delicious pickled, marmaladed, or squashed up in the mouth…..
Aug 25, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Edible
A temporary patch of life on a shallow, gravel parking lot.
Aug 25, 2011 | Category: Edible
Recycled and simple materials, like plastic sacks as container pots
Aug 22, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Edible, Inspiration, Roof Gardens
Cafe decoration in Shikoku.
Aug 22, 2011 | Category: Decoration
Dead space becomes a place of relaxation and rejuvenation.
Aug 22, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Dead Space, Roof Gardens
“…imprecise, unrepeatable, imperfect and continuous…”
Aug 22, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Inspiration
Permanence of impermanent structure; Relaxed hiding space; Natural cooling; Shade.
Aug 22, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Green Walls
Humble color + striking feature.
Aug 17, 2011 | Category: Decoration, Tiered Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Plants can play many roles in neighbourhood life.
Aug 17, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Community Gardening, Other Uses for Gardens, Parks
Laundry pole + clothes hangers in Omotesando
Aug 17, 2011 | Category: Decoration, Hanging Gardens
Although the trees are long dead, the wall reminds us of a garden once treasured.
Aug 17, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Trees
Relaxed, honesty-box style informal florist makes a delightful addition to an afternoon stroll.
Jul 30, 2011 | Category: Decoration, Inspiration, Other Uses for Gardens, Retail
Keep your eye on the cracks
Jul 30, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Edible, Independent Plants
Gardening for soil-less environs
Jul 28, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Independent Plants
Edible adaption and adoption.
Jul 28, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Edible
Molded to the edge of the plot.
Jul 19, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Tiered Gardens
Flexible, tiered, lithe.
Jul 19, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Roof Gardens, Tiered Gardens
A host of edibles in a junk inscribed plot.
Jul 19, 2011 | Category: Dead Space, Edible
Space efficient roadside planter fix.
Jul 08, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Curbside, Inspiration
Passage territories are invitations to garden.
Jul 06, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening
It’s great to see such huge trees full of orange fruit and accessible from the street.
Jul 06, 2011 | Category: Edible
Free food every where, in Tokyo
Jul 06, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Edible, Inspiration, Public Projects
Pots, blocks, dirt and plants sit, stand on and burrow over and into each other.
Jul 04, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Inspiration
Bare curbside bonsai on a block in Kyoto.
Jun 30, 2011 | Category: Curbside
Ample plant growth in the most minimal of urban spaces
Jun 28, 2011 | Category: Decoration, Green Walls, Inspiration, Vertical Gardens
Simple, robust, flexible
Jun 28, 2011 | Category: Hanging Gardens
A ramshackle arrangement.
Jun 28, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Decoration, Other Uses for Gardens
A bit of greenification helps keep this inner-city commerce spot free of parked bicycles.
Jun 18, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Dead Space, Other Uses for Gardens, Retail
Another example of the hand made aspects of Japanese mass-made toilets.
Jun 18, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Decoration, Inspiration
How cool that the students are offering the station something alive.
Jun 18, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Decoration, Inspiration, Public Projects
Dead space unsuable for parking or commerce.
Jun 08, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Edible
Decorating a smoking/drink machine ‘rest spot’.
Jun 08, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Curbside, Dead Space, Decoration
Another only-in-Tokyo street beauty
May 30, 2011 | Category: Decoration, Hanging Gardens
Plants trump cars.
May 29, 2011 | Category: Dead Space
Long roadside planter constructed of loosely packed bricks.
May 29, 2011 | Category: Curbside
Prolific and generous Tokyo gardener Joan Bailey is documenting her new and improved green curtain.
May 22, 2011 | Category: Balcony Gardens, Green Walls, Inspiration, News
Family blog documenting a green curtain.
May 22, 2011 | Category: Green Walls, Inspiration, News
A lovely family gardening experiment
May 22, 2011 | Category: Balcony Gardens, Inspiration
Footpath facing tiered gardens & plot.
May 17, 2011 | Category: Tiered Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Wire twisted into pot plant holders to decorate roadside residential fencing.
May 16, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Hanging Gardens
Metal window ledge provides ample space for both storing cabbages and drying shoes.
May 15, 2011 | Category: Edible
“No Pooing! No Peeing!” reads this scrawled message on a broken board.
May 09, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants
Mature trees support their still-potted adolescent friend.
Apr 20, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Curbside, Trees
A lovely twist to the usually forboding and odorous gaping deadspace.
Apr 12, 2011 | Category: Community Gardening, Dead Space, Decoration, Roof Gardens
Untended bicycle parking bay results in lush unintentional green roof.
Apr 11, 2011 | Category: Independent Plants, Roof Gardens
in full bloom and towering over the pedestrians
Apr 10, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Decoration
Greenmail instead of blackmail, or cute act of guerilla gardening.
Apr 07, 2011 | Category: Inspiration, Play
the wall uses minimal space to provide a green corridor
Apr 07, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
Car port hanging garden constructed from modified hangers
Apr 07, 2011 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Other Uses for Gardens
TeruTeruBozu type crow scarecrow construction in rubbish bags.
Apr 01, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Edible
Loose bricks arranged around potplants beautify a suburban retail space.
Apr 01, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Retail
a tree of death, made of dozens of cigarette cartons and festooned with Christmas lights
Apr 01, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Decoration, Trees
“…perhaps disregard for existing structures is a better description, as the rods pierce the old corrugated plastic awning to stabilize the structure”
Mar 27, 2011 | Category: Edible
An interesting take on the classic balcony-supported green curtain.
Mar 26, 2011 | Category: Green Walls, Hanging Gardens
Breeze blocks that form the edging of a carpark double as sturdy plant pots.
Mar 13, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space
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.
Mar 11, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space
Transferring the principles of the Tokyo curbside garden a few meters skyward.
Mar 11, 2011 | Category: Roof Gardens
Whether intentional or not, the impressive scale of this garden creates a natural security system…..
Mar 11, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Other Uses for Gardens
What made this particular garden stand out is the fact that it is composed entirely of plants still in their garden center pots and plastic containers.
Mar 07, 2011 | Category: Curbside
Precarious yet thoughtful, this construction does not intrude into the narrow thoroughfare any further than the curb line.
Mar 07, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
A lightweight and considerate garden.
Mar 07, 2011 | Category: Curbside
A love affair with dirt knows no bounds, rules, and follows a logic of its own. Right on, I say!
Mar 07, 2011 | Category: Edible, Inspiration
A mysterious and slightly foreboding balcony jungle in Yanaka.
Mar 06, 2011 | Category: Vertical Gardens
Avid golfer brings hobby home to the garden.
Mar 02, 2011 | Category: Decoration, Play
Downtown eggplants next to NADiff gallery in Ebisu
Mar 02, 2011 | Category: Edible
There is something comforting to feel wildness in the center of the city
Mar 02, 2011 | Category: Independent Plants
this hanging pot relies on an S-hook to attach itself to the existing built environment
Mar 01, 2011 | Category: Dead Space, Decoration, Hanging Gardens
Space for gardening more important that private transport in a leafy Tokyo suburb.
Feb 23, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Hanging planter space 3m above a Yanaka alley.
Feb 22, 2011 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Extra curbside space eked out for a planter row.
Feb 22, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space
Is this a new trend? I am looking forward to watching these plants grow this summer.
Feb 22, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Vertical Gardens
“It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing in this heat.”
Feb 22, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Tools of the Trade
Creative use of dead space for a practical garden.
Feb 18, 2011 | Category: Dead Space
A few bricks in the right place can help turn dead into living + edible space.
Feb 18, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Edible
Resembling a battleship plowing through the water, this garden takes over almost the entire street frontage of the building.
Feb 18, 2011 | Category: Curbside
While the resultant rice will probably not be enough for a meal, this experiment adds a different element to the usual curbside vege-garden fare.
Feb 18, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Edible
A simple solution for a hanging garden on a narrow Yanaka footpath.
Feb 18, 2011 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Creating curbside planter space with bricks and wood.
Feb 17, 2011 | Category: Curbside
Contrary to popular opinion, cities only become devoid of natural life by active suppression…..
Feb 17, 2011 | Category: Articles/Downloads, Dead Space
I love how seasonal and impromptu this vegetable gardening is. A city that’s safe for vegetables and plants is one that also welcomes people.
Feb 16, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Edible
Unplanned and hectic but built up slowly over many years. Temporary in form and materials but not in presence.
Feb 15, 2011 | Category: Tiered Gardens, Vertical Gardens
A cute pocket garden constructed from waste materials.
Feb 15, 2011 | Category: Vertical Gardens
A little support for a little melon.
Feb 14, 2011 | Category: Edible
There’s no shame in tying a few pots up on your wall with a bit of old rope!
Feb 14, 2011 | Category: Vertical Gardens
Claiming urban space for gardening is simple.
Feb 14, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space
Mulberry season in Tokyo’s western suburbs!
Feb 14, 2011 | Category: Edible
I love the small strips of green space between the sidewalk and the street.
Feb 13, 2011 | Category: Curbside, Decoration, Independent Plants, Walks
What surprises me still are Tokyo residents’ ingenuity and passion for cultivating plants and community in a crowded, over-built city…..
Feb 13, 2011 | Category: Articles/Downloads, Community Gardening
‘Web’-type tomato garden in apartment complex dead space.
Feb 10, 2011 | Category: Dead Space, Edible
Precarious hanging gardens one step back from Tokyo’s fashion district.
Feb 10, 2011 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Strategic pot plant placement creates a makeshift green wall in Shibuya.
Feb 10, 2011 | Category: Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
External piping engaged as potplant holder in central Harajuku.
Feb 10, 2011 | Category: Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
How did it get there? How does it survive the city’s relentless drive to bury every grain of soil?
Feb 10, 2011 | Category: Independent Plants
A public train set in a rather barren raised garden on a small street across from a cemetery and the music school.
Feb 10, 2011 | Category: Play
An arrangement of pot plants is given shape and presence by a brick border.
Feb 09, 2011 | Category: Curbside
Growing your own. Tokyo Style.
Jan 10, 2011 | Category: Edible, Inspiration
High-priced residence, luxury car, beautiful flower, and humble maintenence method.
Jan 10, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Community Gardening, Decoration
More tree gathering.
Jan 10, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Curbside, Trees
“Protected from would-be snatchers but all can enjoy”
Jan 10, 2011 | Category: Caring for your Plants
“Very cute outdoor shelving for plants. Like book shelves”
Jan 10, 2011 | Category: Vertical Gardens
Covering a Tokyo building with lavender plants, or creating small lavender city farms . . .
Jan 02, 2011 | Category: Balcony Gardens
Public planter asks passers-by for a bit of water.
Dec 26, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Community Gardening
Aesthetically pleasing and responsible.
Dec 26, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Curbside, Decoration, Trees
Respect, privacy, decoration.
Dec 26, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Curbside
Planters on planters.
Dec 26, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Tiered Gardens
Contribution from Ella Rutledge.
Dec 26, 2010 | Category: Dead Space
“What you do with this space is up to you”
Dec 14, 2010 | Category: Dead Space
Lovely pink gabella lives along Ome Kaido..all by itself
Dec 12, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space
“when I thin them out, I can eat the sprouts”
Dec 11, 2010 | Category: Edible
“Konegi in my kitchen loves the sunshine today.”
Dec 10, 2010 | Category: Edible
Creating even more space for plants.
Dec 09, 2010 | Category: Curbside
Boundary extension in pots.
Nov 23, 2010 | Category: Curbside
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 [...]
Nov 22, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Edible, Trees
hardy and decorative, with a shamanistic function in its native Amazon habitat
Nov 21, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Trees
A very practical and compact construction.
Nov 18, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Decoration, Other Uses for Gardens
Did the bicycle owner leave the potted plant in the basket, or did a stranger deposit it there?
Nov 18, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Decoration, Play
naming confusion is quite common with flower and plants
Nov 17, 2010 | Category: Decoration
Which came first?
Nov 12, 2010 | Category: Independent Plants, Trees
Gregory Robertson is interested in this dead, green, wild space in Yotsuya….
Nov 11, 2010 | Category: Dead Space
Simple, fresh yellow flower planter on wire rack.
Nov 10, 2010 | Category: Decoration
Flexible nature watching timetable in government park.
Nov 07, 2010 | Category: Community Gardening, Parks
despite the lack of ground soil and space . . I admire the gardener’s generosity to passing pedestrians and bicyclists
Nov 07, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Decoration
. . . the Kanda River viewed from Nakano Fujimichio, with an orange tree in the foreground and the skyscrapers of Nishi Shinjuku in the background
Nov 06, 2010 | Category: Edible, Trees
Much of the daily fabric of urban life, instead, feels like this photo: a bunch of stuff bolted on to other stuff
Nov 05, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Decoration
Tokyo’s ample rainfall allows plants to thrive in the most unlikely places.
Nov 04, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Decoration, Independent Plants
Recently, I have noticed oranges, persimmons, and even pomegranate growing in my neighbors’ tiny gardens and balconies
Nov 03, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Edible, Trees
They are extremely hardy, and pop up everywhere in the fall on green stalks with no leaves.
Nov 02, 2010 | Category: Decoration, Independent Plants
It’s great to see people make use of work time and space for some vegetable gardening.
Oct 27, 2010 | Category: Edible, Green Walls, Play
Coffee shop owner appropriates dead space, fence and creeper to create green lane.
Oct 25, 2010 | Category: Dead Space, Green Walls
this collection of bonsais sits on recycled containers
Oct 25, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Decoration
One amazing fall flower is the very fragrant kinmokusei
Oct 24, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Decoration
Innocently protecting weeds, or fortifying scarce urban space against undesired use?
Oct 19, 2010 | Category: Dead Space
I’ve always dreamed of growing my own pineapples – and so when I saw a plant for sale at our local plant shop I just had to buy it…..
Oct 14, 2010 | Category: Edible
These massive structures are the opposite of the small lanes that make Tokyo feel so village-like and livable.
Oct 12, 2010 | Category: Dead Space
There is something beautiful to glimpse this inefficient use of space and so much lush greenery in the midst of a dense city
Oct 11, 2010 | Category: Independent Plants
an amazing fall flower is the very fragrant kinmokusei (キンモクセイ)
Oct 10, 2010 | Category: Curbside
Trees support a laundry pole construction in Tokyo’s Tachikawa suburbs.
Oct 10, 2010 | Category: Other Uses for Gardens, Trees
My guess is that both of these plant interventions. . . were created by neighbors getting tired of seeing the empty lot and its weeds
Oct 08, 2010 | Category: Dead Space, Decoration
I wasn’t sure if it was an intentional plant
Oct 07, 2010 | Category: Green Walls, Independent Plants, Vertical Gardens
A row of tomato vines protected from the harsh Tokyo summer with a whole lot of umbrellas.
Oct 03, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Edible
Great article on urban farming in Tokyo by Dr. Jintana Kawasaki
Oct 03, 2010 | Category: Articles/Downloads, Edible, Inspiration
Amazing first-time goya curtain
Oct 02, 2010 | Category: Edible, Vertical Gardens
A mix of respect for plant life and hassle involved with disposing of plant cuttings?
Sep 30, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Independent Plants
Unusable public seating repurposed as rock garden at Mt. Takao, West Tokyo.
Sep 29, 2010 | Category: Independent Plants, Inspiration
The role of built environmental artifacts/components will increasingly be that of trellis.
Sep 28, 2010 | Category: Dead Space, Decoration, Independent Plants
What’s growing in your neighborhood?
Sep 28, 2010 | Category: Edible
A strongly practical, domestic garden safety solution.
Sep 27, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Tools of the Trade
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. [...]
Sep 27, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Decoration
Simple and effective hothouse solution in plastic.
Sep 26, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Tools of the Trade
enchanted by how the light struck this worn boat, the plants growing in its bow, and the illusion of . . .
Sep 26, 2010 | Category: Decoration, Parks
A simple way to store an onion and potato harvest.
Sep 25, 2010 | Category: Edible, Tools of the Trade
this narrow Nishi Azabu Juban bar is defined by the curbside street tree
Sep 24, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Green Walls, Trees, Vertical Gardens
Visibility and dryness = Keys to good garden storage
Sep 20, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants
Most people would think there’s no room for a garden
Sep 20, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Decoration, Vertical Gardens
A simple, reversible and light-handed approach to guiding garden growth.
Sep 15, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants
“If you want to try gardening with a difference but are pushed for space go for a water garden”
Sep 13, 2010 | Category: Water Gardens
Japan has a famous set of seven fall flowers
Sep 12, 2010 | Category: Community Gardening, Edible, Independent Plants
A baby bitter melon in the rain, with its flower still attached
Sep 12, 2010 | Category: Edible, Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
Nearly all of the pots rests on stools or low tables
Sep 11, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Decoration, Tiered Gardens, Trees
This plant sales person has staked out valuable real estate
Sep 11, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Decoration, Trees
This sign of fall seems a cruel joke.
Sep 08, 2010 | Category: Trees
Sometimes just 2 hedges = beautiful garden
Sep 08, 2010 | Category: Decoration, Green Walls, Walks
A simple bowl with plants can really add visual impact to a central city sidewalk.
Sep 08, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Decoration
sidewalk awning with minimal space and maintenance, impacts thousands coming to ward office
Sep 08, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Green Walls, Inspiration, Roof Gardens
It’s amazing what you can fit in a sunny narrow space.
Sep 08, 2010 | Category: Decoration, Edible, Green Walls
in between two train tracks, an elevated overpass, and a convenience store . . .
Sep 08, 2010 | Category: Community Gardening, Curbside, Dead Space, Independent Plants
This one looks as if it is secured to keep the tree from obstructing the front entrance.
Sep 05, 2010 | Category: Trees
This concrete curbside planter adds a permanent garden in the narrow space between wall and curb.
Sep 05, 2010 | Category: Curbside
High hanging pots in wire
Sep 02, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Hanging Gardens
Use of existing plants in garden construction
Sep 02, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Trees
A small asagao pot garden and overwhelming garden jungle in Meguro-ku.
Aug 30, 2010 | Category: Curbside
I needed a telescope to get a REALLY good look, which would have felt a bit like being a garden stalker….
Aug 26, 2010 | Category: Roof Gardens
The inside must be filled with delicious scent of the roses and feel miles away from the city life just outside the door.
Aug 26, 2010 | Category: Inspiration, Vertical Gardens
A rather unlikely place, but not so unusual in many regards for Japan.
Aug 26, 2010 | Category: Dead Space
Rocks and concrete blocks mark out narrow marginal space for a bright shock of colour.
Aug 25, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space
Creeping greens in Yutenji
Aug 22, 2010 | Category: Vertical Gardens
Selfmade “vertical garden” courtesy of Jan Lindenberg
Aug 22, 2010 | Category: Vertical Gardens
This small building in a Shinjuku commercial district is buried in vines
Aug 21, 2010 | Category: Dead Space, Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
The planting is amazingly thick, creating a green wall between the sidewalk and the large boulevard. . .
Aug 21, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Tiered Gardens, Vertical Gardens
I am surprised at the success of this vertical, balcony watermelon
Aug 21, 2010 | Category: Edible, Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
What happens when disembodied forces try to impose beauty on the city…
Aug 20, 2010 | Category: Community Gardening, Public Projects
Dead space along the railway tracks in productive and enjoyable use
Aug 17, 2010 | Category: Dead Space, Vertical Gardens
“Funny mix of green and mechanical design. Jingumae, Tokyo”
Aug 17, 2010 | Category: Independent Plants
These recent pictures documenting the progress of Tak Watanabe and daughter’s first green wall are amazing.
Aug 16, 2010 | Category: Green Walls, Inspiration, Vertical Gardens
“Cleaning goya seeds is a pain….so let the ants take care of them!”
Aug 15, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Edible
Bitter melon growing in plastic buckets with an elaborate plastic twine trellis supported by a tree branch
Aug 15, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Edible, Vertical Gardens
Another great example of multi-function outdoor spaces that are incredibly small
Aug 15, 2010 | Category: Dead Space, Garden Types, Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
Upturned beer crates form the structure of this mid-scale tiered garden in a Yanaka driveway.
Aug 12, 2010 | Category: Tiered Gardens, Vertical Gardens
As their name implies, the flowers are most spectacular in the morning.
Aug 10, 2010 | Category: Decoration, Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
Frayed rope for security or stabilization?
Aug 09, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Curbside, Trees
Sometimes objects just fit.
Aug 07, 2010 | Category: Tiered Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Cucumbers grow incredibly fast
Aug 06, 2010 | Category: Edible, Green Walls
Curbside as home for hot chili garden.
Aug 06, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Edible
I wonder how the neighbor cooked them.
Aug 04, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Edible
I am sure that tending rice in the city makes residents appreciate eating rice even more
Aug 04, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Dead Space, Edible
A lovely understated planter in Yanaka.
Aug 03, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Decoration
A monster agave americana displays the resilience and majesty of plants in the face of overwhelming concrete.
Aug 02, 2010 | Category: Independent Plants, Inspiration
It covers the window, and dwarfs in size the adjacent vending machine
Aug 01, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Edible, Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
Ripe cherry tomatoes growing safely on the sidewalk, within arms reach of the laundry hanging to dry
Jul 31, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Edible
What is the function of this construction? Security? Stabilization?
Jul 27, 2010 | Category: Caring for your Plants, Trees
Healthy goya and tomato green curtain, with an interesting attachment.
Jul 27, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Edible
Another example of how to train a tree to create a traditional and elegant entranceway.
Jul 25, 2010 | Category: Trees
I kept hoping that they would get a bit bigger, but finally I decided to harvest them.
Jul 25, 2010 | Category: Edible
A green curtain from the inside.
Jul 25, 2010 | Category: Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
Grapes are a feature fruit in Tokyo, from the inner-city to the outer suburbs.
Jul 23, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Edible, Vertical Gardens
From my vantage point on the 5th floor of an Aoyama Dori office building I check on the progress of a number of rooftop gardens which are invisible from down below…..
Jul 23, 2010 | Category: Roof Gardens, Vertical Gardens
This local person must enjoy plants and the opportunity to make something artful in a small space.
Jul 20, 2010 | Category: Decoration
The elderly man taking a morning stroll in his pajamas stopped to share his amazement and pleasure at the sight.
Jul 20, 2010 | Category: Independent Plants, Inspiration
The flowers vary in color, and the students track the progress in notebooks. Looks like fun.
Jul 19, 2010 | Category: Community Gardening, Other Uses for Gardens
This corner balcony must have 40 or even 100 plants. I wonder what it looks like from inside the apartment.
Jul 19, 2010 | Category: Inspiration, Vertical Gardens, Walks
Laying the foundations for a summer green wall.
Jul 14, 2010 | Category: Green Walls, Other Uses for Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Another example of the resilient, resourceful ways that plants continue to confound our built environment.
Jul 10, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Independent Plants
My watermelon plant has produced an enormous amount of growth in just two months on the balcony…….
Jul 08, 2010 | Category: Edible
All the classic elements: use of public space in unexpected way, display of citizens’ care and skills, recycling of simple materials…..
Jul 06, 2010 | Category: Edible
Flowers as exuberant storefront!
Jul 03, 2010 | Category: Green Walls, Inspiration, Vertical Gardens
Creating a striking entranceway.
Jul 01, 2010 | Category: Trees
Ways to provide extra space for a curbside garden.
Jul 01, 2010 | Category: Curbside
Pots-on-pots for a quick and cheap way to add garden space at the residential border.
Jun 27, 2010 | Category: Curbside
Ways to wire your hanging garden.
Jun 22, 2010 | Category: Green Walls, Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
Renegade citrus in Zoushigaya.
Jun 20, 2010 | Category: Edible, Independent Plants, Trees, Walks
A simple twine structure connecting the railing with the laundry support attached to the balcony ceiling.
Jun 14, 2010 | Category: Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
A very green wall constructed from planters and Pots
Jun 13, 2010 | Category: Curbside, Green Walls, Vertical Gardens
Adding a pot-plant garden with wire and wood.
Jun 12, 2010 | Category: Vertical Gardens
Plastic twine creates space for extra hanging pot-plants.
Jun 11, 2010 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
A simple and elegant way to train a tree to grow over an entrance way.
Jun 10, 2010 | Category: Trees
A clever solution for creating a hanging garden along a breeze block wall without damaging/affecting the structure in any permanent way.
Jun 10, 2010 | Category: Hanging Gardens, Vertical Gardens
