For all your plant needs
Blog Post
CB Musings - Whats happening in market ??
Alex Schanzer • Aug 09, 2019
Turning Japanese, I think i'm turning Japanese, i really think so ......
"Turning Japanese" - who remembers the punk classic from the early 80's, byThe Vapors? Well i have to say, having not long returned from a wonderful trip to the land of the rising sun, this is now my new anthem!! Amazing food, wonderful people and beautiful flora (spent alot of time in the mountainous regions of Shikoku Island walking and rafting on the Yoshino river) - wonderful to see and be in the bamboo / conifer forests that cover the landscape in this area complete with wild underplantings of Acer, Cornus, Azalea, Camellia, Hydrangea, Nandina and Anemones, Liriope and Ohiopogon at ground level. Its always inspiring to see things in their natural habitat and gain a renewed appreciation of these plants.
So with all these things going through my mind, i thought it would be a good opportunity to showcase the sorts of plants we have currently on offer to recreate your own feeling of Japanese serenity - Enjoy the pics and pass the sake!! ( they make a pretty mean whiskey also - very nice .... )
Coniferous plants are a very ancient genera, dating back to the Jurassic period and in some cases even earlier. The modern garden cultivars that are offered, have been manipulated to maximise colour and growth habit but still retain that ancient zen like feel - even better when you see them out in their natural environments. The following pics are some of the lines that have just arrived on site, allowing us now to offer one of the most extensive ranges available anywhere - at the latest count we now have 50 different varieties, a very impressive offering ! Perfect for the art of bonzai or recreating your own Oriental inspired landscape masterpiece.
Along with these beauties, the obvious inclusions for the Japanese look would be things like Flowering cherries for colour ( flowering shades of whites, reds and pinks) and form. Alot of varieties are grown on standards so this is great to create drama with underplantings - especially if it is one grafted onto a Prunus serrula stock. This variety is prized for its polished reddish brown, mahogany like peeling bark - a beautiful specimen when used with the Hybrid yoshino variety Prunus yedoensis 'Awanui' - a spectacular sight to see when in full bloom. We have a large range of ornamental flowering cherry available on site and have access, to an even larger range of advanced grade Cherry trees off site. If you are after something in particular, please contact us and i am sure we will be able to help !!
We also now have a good range of clumping var's of Bambusa, in grades up to 35lt - instant screens for around your ceremonial tea garden or meditative zen retreat?? Can't get more Japanese y then that i think, the sound of a gentle breeze through the bamboo culms is very evocative. Well I hope this has seeded afew ideas - for even more inspiration visit us and have a wander around - who knows, you may well be humming my anthem by the time you leave us ! Enjoy.
