Japan is in the midst of the O-bon season, as in All Souls Day…
The university is closed for a full week…
Put in the two weekends, and yours truly is only too happy to be having a 9-day break…
Which means, an excellent opportunity to catch up with the chores in the potager…
Yes, it is a joy to be able to work in the garden, but still, the heat… ooh, it’s killing…
We have been trying to grow this soap wort for a while now…
Am happy to see that they are growing well…
Belongs to the carnation family and has sweet smelling flowers…
Apparently can be used as a mild soap but we haven’t tried doing so…
The wild marjoram a.k.a. oregano looks pretty but my missus prefers the sweet marjoram for cooking…
And so is the Jerusalem artichoke… it looks pretty…
We tried eating their tubers but did not quite like their taste…
The mini-lotus flower is doing beautifully in the pond…
Potager Y @ Japan 
All these flowers are named so funnily.
You have the most gorgeous mini-lotus! That soap wort is new to me. Very gentle colour also for a mild soap.
Beautiful lotus flower, does the plant produce edible root?The flavor and texture of uncooked Jerusalem artichoke is very, very different from the cooked. I wrote a post about it on December 2, 2011 that you may find interesting. Here is the link http://gardentowok.wordpress.com/?s=sunchoke+artichoke
A Japanese friend gave me the tubers of this mini lotus… the Japanese name is Hime-hasu, literally, Princess Lotus… no, I have not tried checking if the roots are edible… thanks for the link on the Jerusalem artichoke… shall look it up and see…
I like the multi-layered lotus flower too… my missus had been wanting to have this flower so we are happy with it now…
I noticed your soap wort, and wondered if you knew anything about salt wort and its culinary uses. I have one in my garden but can't find much online about cooking with it beyond that it's used in sushi…
Hi Lrong,I too love the photo of the mini lotus flower.I tried to have lotus flowers in my pond but they didn't do well so just have the fish swimming lazily around!
We have not really tried growing or cooking with salt wort although I have seen them in the stores… the Japanese folks call them 'okahijiki'… and they use salt wort as they do with seaweed…
Beautiful herb's flowers! The mini lotus is really gorgeous! I never have luck with lotus or any water plants…sigh…
The flowers of the soap wort looks very delicate and too beautiful to be tried as soap. They'll be great standing in a vase. They celebrated the O-bon season in Malaysia recently. It was a good way to get to know Japanese culture. My daughter attended with her friends dressed in a simple kimono – yukata? she bought in Japan. They enjoyed the experience very much.
That should be yukata, normally worn in the warm season in summer… glad that your daughter enjoyed herself…
everything is beautiful! so happy you have the days off, such a beautiful potager to work in!
Your garden must be attraction a lot of birds and bees with all the beautiful flowers blooming!
Stunning flowers! I usually wait until early Winter or late Autumn before digging Jerusalem artichokes. They are quite an unusual flavour, but I love them.
Your last picture on that "LOTUS" reminds me to get in more of the water lilies in my home place that is pink in colour. I dont think I can easily plant a lotus than to water lilies. Beautiful photos made my eyes roll…!
Oh your photos maybe more beautiful than the taste of the plants you mentioned :-)). You said it is so hot, what is the temp in C?
Fishes swimming in the pond is also a lovely sight to see…
Theanne, I am only photographing the pretty parts of the garden… the yakky parts, oh, they do not appear in my blog…
Yeap, many birds and bees do come by…
Good for you, Matron… enjoy…
Thank you for your comments… good luck with your water lillies…
Thank you for your compliments… temperature have been hovering around 35 degrees…
Malar… keep trying… the situation can only turn for the better…
I just found your blog and I'm enjoying it tremendously! Your garden is amazing. I wonder if you could help answer a question: I was in Japan this July with my family and saw many home gardens from the shinkansen window. I recognized most plants, but could not place one. It had large, somewhat heart-shaped leaves on single stems. They were about a foot tall, I think. Do you know what I might have seen? Thanks and happy gardening!
Thank you Joanne, for dropping by my little blog… am very glad that you enjoy reading about my humble garden… about the plant you saw from the shinkansen window, I think it will be difficult for me to say… if you have a picture, that may provide a clue… sorry for not being of much help… :=)
Interesting about the soap wort. Do let us know once you've given it a try. Does it also have bactericidal properties do you think?
Bom, we have not tried it yet… will do so someday…
I was looking for pictures of the plant, but it seems I didn't get one after all. I guess it must have been from one of the slower trains I saw it, too, since it would have been a blur at high speeds. Thanks anyway! I'm still happy I found your blog. So many great pictures and descriptions! 😀