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Ten August Favorites

Ginger Lily ( Hedychium coccineum 'Tara') With the exception of a few hot spells, August has been tolerable. However, beginning tomorrow, we are in for a 5-day heat wave. Disgusting! August is the month for plants that really love the heat. I have to begin with the Ginger Lily 'Tara' which is blooming for the first time. I posted a few weeks ago about how excited I was to see the bloom stalk. They have slowly opened with a few flowers every day. It has been well worth the wait.  Other favorites - Continuing the orange theme is Lantana 'Miss Huff' which is growing in a pot (that is the heather 'Firefly' in the foreground). This lantana can survive in the ground if situated in a protected area and it isn't too wet. Previously, one grew in the back garden along the south foundation and got huge (about 3' x 5'). I finally took it out after a particularly tough winter and it was slow to bounce back.  Allium ' Millenium' is a small charme...
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Garden at the Grand Prince Takanawa Hotel


The Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa was our arrival hotel in Tokyo. Everyone was arriving at different times, some two days before, others one day before the official start of the tour. I was two days early so I spent two nights here before everyone left for Kyoto. Not much fanfare was given about the hotel garden in our itinerary, except to note that "there is a garden adjacent to the hotel". And what a lovely garden it was!

Very well-tended (it was rare to see a garden there that was not), it was larger than expected.

It was quite spectacular at night when it was lit up - a great introductory garden for our tour.














There was a massive arrangement in the hotel lobby. On the second day, an employee was trimming back some of the limbs.



Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy
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  1. Kris PetersonNovember 30, 2024 at 9:23 AM

    It's an impressive garden for a hotel - and that's probably the best koi pond I've ever seen.

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  2. tz_gardenDecember 1, 2024 at 8:04 AM

    Gorgeous! How lovely to have a garden right there at the hotel to walk around. It looks like the weather was nice, too.

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    Replies
    1. Phillip OliverDecember 1, 2024 at 8:07 AM

      Yes, we were lucky with the weather. It rained the night I arrived and the day I left. In between, 60s and 70s.

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    2. HummingbirdDecember 2, 2024 at 9:31 PM

      What a lovely garden, and truly beautiful at night, Phillip!

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