"Weeding My Yard and Garden and Thinking About Satoniwa Garden Style"
I pulled weeds in my yard and garden this morning. Basically, weeding is a very fun thing for me if it's not too much. My yard and garden are very wild, actually. My husband usually mows the lawn about every two weeks in summer and uses a whippersnapper for tall grass a few times a month. However, we don't cut the grass too much. We cut grass for protecting my dog from tics.
My backyard and garden area are pretty wild. My ideal garden is called "Satoniwa (里庭)" style. Satoniwa's sato (里) means village and "niwa (庭)" means yard or garden in Japanese. This style is a very natural garden which has wild plants, flowers, vegetables, bushes, trees, planted flowers, planted plants, and more. Sometimes there are Japanese lanterns in Satoniwa. Additionally, there is a pond, and a small creek sometimes. It's fun to walk around in Satoniwa because once you enter Satoniwa, you will notice many different kinds of nature. It's like exploring mini nature or hiking in your garden. Therefore, I don't weed all the time. After enjoying wild plants and flowers, then if they are too wild, I pull some weeds.
Why I am interested in Satoniwa is because my grandmother created her Satoniwa. She always spent time in her garden and told me that "the plum flowers started blooming today," "there are some tomatoes ready," "look at the bird in the tree." or more. I like to explore her Satoniwa very much. Now, my mother is taking over her Satoniwa because my grandma is very old. Now, I am trying to make my own version of Satoniwa but I need more of my grandmother's knowledge. I can't meet her often so, I read a plant book.
"里庭のことを考えながら庭と畑の雑草取りをする"
今朝は庭と畑の雑草取りをしました。膨大な量でなければ、基本的に雑草とりは好きな作業です。わたしの庭はけっこう自由に草木を伸ばしています。夏場は主人がだいたい２週間に一度芝刈りをして、背の高い雑草は電動の草刈機で切ってくれます。しかし、わたしたちは常に気合を入れて草の管理をしてはいません。犬を虫から守るために草刈りをしている程度です。
裏庭は雑草をわりと自由に伸び放題にしています。わたしの理想の庭スタイルは里庭です。野草、野花、野菜、低木、木、植えた花、植えた植物などが自然に融合し合っている感じです。里庭にはときどき灯籠があったりもしますね。さらに、池や小川が流れていたりする里庭もあるのではないでしょうか。里庭に一歩足を踏み入れると、さまざまな自然の植物に目がいき、歩いて回るのは楽しいです。自分の庭の小さな自然の中を探索またはハイキングしているような感覚です。ですから、わたしはあまり雑草取りをしません。野草や野花を楽しんだ後に、あまりにも伸び放題の雑草を取るぐらいです。
里庭に興味を持ったのは祖母の影響です。祖母は常に庭で過ごし、「梅の花が今日咲き始めたよ」とか「トマトが食べ頃だよ」とか「あそこの木の鳥を見てごらん」など教えてくれました。祖母の里庭を探検するのが好きでした。祖母はかなり歳をとったので、今はわたしの母が祖母の庭を継いでいます。わたしは自分なりの里庭風を楽しんでしますが、もう少し祖母の知識が欲しいです。祖母にはなかなか会えないので植物の本を読んでいます。
Thank you!
It is a very interesting garden technique and looks like it can be very fulfilling and fun to explore such a garden! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your comment! Yes, it is fun to explore every day. I have corn, bean, and squash garden as well but they are very slow this year. This wild parts are doing well though.