庭 あります ！

It has been an exciting day in the garden. Aimee oversaw all the changes and seems to have approved (as hard as that is to believe since she gets very very upset if there is even a shoe out of place in the house.)




(I just know that if I ever actually get the place cleaned up she'll have to be hospitalized in the mental part of the veterinary hospital!) Doesn't she look self-satisfied!? (It's like she did all the work herself!))

 

The heat has really brought out the day lilies along the drive, and...

there are still some real lilies blooming in various parts of the garden.

 The most beautiful lilies just started blooming in the tiergarden. Bright red and gorgeous!



But none of that is a change big enough to potentially upset a bulldog.  The real exciting news of the day is that the Japanese lanterns that I ordered arrived.  I got the call the at 8:59 this morning. The local business that I had conned, er.. I mean wheedled into accepting my shipment (so that I would only have to pay commercial shipping) called to let me know that my "rocks" had arrived.

I took all the old shoes and candy wrappers and last year's wind shield wipers out of the back of the car, so there would be space (I hoped) and headed for the loading dock.  There I saw two pallets of granite lantern pieces all wrapped up in cellophane tape and standing about as tall as I. 

The very kind gentlemen at the loading dock pried the boards apart and loaded the extremely heavy granite pieces into the car.  Then it was home to figure out a way to get the lanterns assembled in the garden.

I had been wanting a Japanese lantern for many years and while these are not genuine lanterns from Japan, they are hand-carved imports from China.  The company I purchased from was in Minnesota and I had expected them to be carved of our own Minnesota granite, but instead they come from China via San Francisco.

I think I must have used every single one of those seven simple machines they taught us about in kindergarten (except maybe the pulley which in this case would have been the most useful)!

The Oribe took its place in the tiny little Japanese inspired corner of the North part of the yard.

Named for Furuta Oribe a daimyo (feudal lord) and learned man of the Momoyama period (1573-1615), Oribe was the student of the most famous Tea ceremony teacher Sen Rikyu. He not only continued developing the tea ceremony after his sensei's death, but also advanced flower arranging and gardening too. Notice the moon opening facing the viewer and house. Since my spouse is such a big fan of the moon, I set it up so he could see it out his window.



I will most likely adjust some of the plantings now that the lantern is in place, but for years I have been longing for a Japanese lantern for this location. (Now I just need a little tea house nearby. (wink!)

The lantern I had always wanted - the Yukimi lantern was too short for this location. I knew this, but still had to get a Yukimi, so that second lantern got to take it's place in the back yard next to the new cherry tree. I was able to get most of it down to the location, but the top must weigh about 100 pounds, so I had to wait for help in order to finish the job.

The Yukimi is known as the Snow Viewing Lantern, (Yuki means snow in Japanese). It is probably supposed to sit at the edge of a pond, but will have to be land-based in our yard. When Spousal Unit D. came home - he helped me drive the car down to the back yard and we had a little ceremony of putting the top on and adding the finial. Even he is impressed with the beauty of the lanterns! I can't wait for snow!!



(This will be the first and the last year you ever hear me express such a sentiment!)