Signs of Spring

Signs of spring have really sprung in the little town of Obachan's. Waking to a brighter day, hearing the songs of the birds flying in the bamboo forest overhead and then stepping out   into the crisp morning air reminds you that you have arrived in a peaceful little pocket of the world. 

Arriving back I was keen to see how mine and my assistants efforts last year with replanting the wild jonquil bulbs had turned out. My idea was that the flowers would give some interest along the fence line. Remember this is what it looked like when we worked on this area. Full of weeds but crying out for some love and a clean-up!

BEFORE                                                            AFTER

While it looks better than a fence line of weeds I've decided it needs more colour. Maybe yellow, purple, a rainbow of colour...not sure yet, but it certainly will be fun adding whatever we decide and seeing our efforts bloom. It was beautiful to see that not only were the jonquils wildly growing, but also these sweet little snowdrop bulbs. 

While we are at Obachan chi's I like to make our entrance feel welcoming with some flowers. It says to our neighbours and people driving by that this little house is loved.

What a beautiful statement of spring with a flowering plum and citrus tree set against the charm of an old neighboring Japanese farmhouse.

One day while we were in the city of Shimoda we stopped and had some lunch at a very historical building. In their small but quaint garden they had cut mandarin oranges and attached them to the branches for the birds to enjoy. My assistant thought this was something we could try at Obachan's to attract some more nature into our garden, and it worked like a charm. These locally grown mandarin oranges were so sweet and kind of hard to be attaching to a tree! But whatever flew by enjoyed themselves!

As always we end our day with a hot onsen. It was hard to leave Obachan's with such beautiful weather in Izu. I know its been awhile since I last posted our progress on the little farmhouse, but I have much to share in the coming weeks!