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Aloe virginieae: Virginie’s Aloe – Rare Madagascar Species

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🌿 Discover the Perfect Plants for Your Space! 🌿 Explore our handpicked collection of cycads, aloes, seeds, and more to transform your garden or landscape. Shop Now Discovery and Taxonomy The story of Aloe virginieae, also known as Virginie’s Aloe, begins with its discovery in the arid landscapes of southern Madagascar. This striking succulent, a

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Aloe ankoberensis: The Ankober Aloe – Ethiopian Endemic

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🌿 Discover the Perfect Plants for Your Space! 🌿 Explore our handpicked collection of cycads, aloes, seeds, and more to transform your garden or landscape. Shop Now Description and Morphology Aloe ankoberensis, a captivating succulent hailing from the highlands of Ethiopia, stands as a testament to the unique biodiversity of this region. This endemic species,

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December in the Garden 2024

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December in the Garden 2024

In temperate climates, all kinds of plants cease growth and lose their leaves as the light diminishes and temperatures fall. The ancients saw the loss of leaves and increasing darkness and cold with some trepidation. But evergreen plants—coniferous and broadleaf evergreens—are an antidote to the decay and gloominess of winter. Evergreen boughs were brought into […]

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Japanese Temples

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Japanese Temples

We visited numerous temples on the tour, at least five major ones and countless smaller ones that we stumbled upon on independent walks around our hotels.
The one pictured above, Senso-ji was the last one we saw, and it is significant because it is the oldest one in Japan (originally built around 650AD). An avenue of tourist shops lines the way to the temple and it was packed with people. I was on a mission to find Michael a Kokeshi doll and I was running out of time. Our tour guide assured me that I could find one on this street. I did locate them, in a tiny shop about the size of our bathroom (which is very small). It was packed with a group of teenagers and there was barely room to breathe. Fortunately, a lady working in the shop retreived the doll from the top shelf and even wrapped it for me. I told Michael later that I now understood his panic attacks. My shopping excursion caused me to miss going inside the temple, but I was happy that I got the doll.
Notice a lot of people are wearing kimonos. There were numerous places to rent them on the street.

Now to the very first place we visited on our first day after the bullet train trip from Tokyo to Kyoto. It was a temple called Kiyomizu-dera. It was actually a complex of temples located at the top of a hill. Along the way, a narrow street was jam packed with small gift shops. Again, the crowd was intolerable. You could barely walk. I was worried that the entire trip would be like this but fortunately it was not. 
Despite the crowds, this was my favorite temple because of the orange!
Claustrophobia, anyone?
I was hesitant to walk across the deck of this one. I cannot imagine the weight from all the people packed on top of it. Yikes!
Down below it, you could see the support so I felt better.

One of our tour guides, Minori, tells us about the history of the temple.

Here I am with Lois, our tour organizer. We were in good hands!
We were at this temple very late, just as the sun was setting.

The Great Buddha Hall, located in the city of Nara, was massive (the largest wooden structure in the world) and contains a huge statue of Buddha that measures over 50 feet in height. 
At Tenryu-gi in Kyoto, I was excited to see a group of tree pruners. Prior to the trip, I read a book that Lois recommended – Cutting Back: My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto by Leslie Buck. It was a woman’s account of her experiences working in Kyoto gardens. It was exciting seeing these people in action.
 

Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

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Aloe nicholsii: Nichols’ Aloe – South African Beauty

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🌿 Discover the Perfect Plants for Your Space! 🌿 Explore our handpicked collection of cycads, aloes, seeds, and more to transform your garden or landscape. Shop Now Discovering Aloe nicholsii The story of Aloe nicholsii is one of botanical intrigue, a tale of a hidden gem finally brought to light. This rare species, named after

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