Spring nostalgia

A surprising aspect of spring in Japan is the vast number of spring flowers from my childhood in England that I see everywhere. It is common to espy daffodils, tulips, snowdrops, pansies, bluebell-like flowers and the occasional crocus straggled along the wayside, or in clumps of colour in the wild, rambling patches of people's gardens. The sight of these blooms reminds me of the sadness of snows melted and gone, the hunt for blue and speckled eggs in the hedgerows, Easter and the twitter of newly hatched life.

In fact, most gardens here are not of the traditional Japanese zen-pebbled-arched-bridge-with-a-koi-pond variety. The average garden consists of a delightful cluttered array of potplants on porches or around front doors, or any leftover patch or plot of land (usually very small) being covered willy-nilly in colourful flowers and untended grasses and plants. The gardens often appear unkempt and bestraggled, but are most pleasant to look upon.