On Saturday we flew back to Chicago from Japan. It was a 12 hour flight, during which I did not sleep at all. Nevertheless, I was fairly alert on the drive home from the airport, focused mainly on what we would find upon returning to the garden. My anxiety gradually rose as I took in the effects of Chicago’s record September heat wave and the abnormally dry conditions.
Yesterday Judy and I revisited the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden in Tokyo in time to see the Spider Lilies (Lycoris radiata) bloom. Tomorrow we fly back to Chicago.
View from our window at about 200 mph on the Shinkansen.
Hunting for a nosh at Hama-Rikyu garden in Tokyo.
It’s hard to leave the garden when you’re going away for a long trip. Judy and I are heading to Japan tomorrow and we’ll be staying there for a couple of weeks. (It’s another vacation piggybacked on Judy’s business trip.) I can’t stop thinking of everything I’ll miss while we’re gone.
So I spent much of the weekend inspecting the beds and borders, taking everything in, and fretting about what blooms I may miss while I’m gone. Why don’t you come along while I say goodbye to the garden and all its botanical citizens.
First off, goodbye to the Susans – both Black-Eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida) and Brown-Eyed Susan (R. triloba). They’ve both had a pretty good year, and they’ll probably still have a few blooms when we get back.
gardeninacity 