One of the best parts of publishing this blog is hearing from people around the world who share their love of gardening and public spaces. I hear frequently from architecture graduate students (US and UK mostly), environmentalists, and gardeners.

Recently Hester van Dijk of Overtreders W contacted me and shared her photos of urban and rural gardening in Japan. Oversteders W is a Dutch spatial design studio. The photos in this post are hers, republished with permission, and you can see her complete photo set online. She is a much better photographer than I am.

I think of Dutch public spaces as so well designed, so I was impressed by her appreciation of Japanese gardening. Here’s what she wrote me:

Last autumn I traveled in Japan by bicycle, and I was fascinated by the subject of city gardening in Japan too. I collected a series of photos that I think might be interesting to see for you, not just from Tokyo but also from Kyoto, Kanazawa, Hida Takayama, Osaka, Naoshima and the countryside. The Japanese way of sidewalk gardening is so creative, much more interesting than here in Holland. The subject has been very inspiring for me as a public space designer.