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5baimidori

Purple berries on murasaki shikibu pop on light green foliage

November 15, 2011
biodiversity, public space, small business
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紫式部の果実は薄緑の葉に似合います。この特別な秋の植物は『５倍緑』という都市里山箱のなかで成長します。史火陶芸教室の前を、歩行者が注目しています。季節ごとに、小さい風景ができあがります。史火のホームペジで、この５倍緑箱が二年前にどんなだったかを見られます。 I love how the purple berries pop against the light green foliage. This hardy shrub is a classic fall marker, and a reference to the female novelist of the thousand year old Tale of Genji. Unlike my balcony specimen, which dropped its berries while still green, this one outside Shiho ceramic studio looks fantastic. …

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Small oak is sprouting new leaves and flowers

May 3, 2011
Residences, trees
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里山の箱の中で、小さな柏が若葉をのばし、花を咲かせています。 This small oak tree in my satoyama box is pushing out new leaves and flowers. I am a big fan of 5bai midori’s modular boxes full of native trees, bushes, and small plants. This box measures only 20 by 20 by 20 centimeters, yet it is full of plants and surprises. Some of them …

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Modular satoyama box in full fall color

December 18, 2010
biodiversity, Residences, small business, trees
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ベランダの庭には小さな里山がある。色が毎日変わって楽しみだ。 There’s a small satoyama in my balcony garden. The color changes every day. The leaves on tis small tree in my balcony’s modular satoyama box are turning dark crimson. I love how this small box from 5bai Midori is full of Japanese native plants. I have kept this satoyama box for just over a …

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Ceramic studio spring garden

May 3, 2010
biodiversity, small business, trees
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I take care of my relatives ceramic studio garden. Last year’s 5bai midori “satoyama unit,” installed during a fall typhoon, is coming back with lots of new growth. This photo shows off the yellow flowers “yamabuki”, a vigorous Japanese shrub. Sometimes you see white flowers, or multi-petalled yellow ones. Shiho ceramic studio‘s back yard is …

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5bai Midori, or 5 sided green

May 22, 2009
small business, Visionary
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In an earlier post, I talked a little about 5bai Midori‘s street beautification products and the creative force behind this small green business Tase Michio. This post uses photos from their website to explore their idea of restoring the countryside, or satoyama(里山), and bringing it into the city. The photos above illustrate the concept of …

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Meeting Tase Michio 田瀬理夫

May 21, 2009
Visionary
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This week I had the amazing opportunity to meet one of my landscape design heroes, Tase Michio (田瀬理夫) of Plamtago. He has created urban architecture and a green business that bring native plants and habitats to urban areas. His most famous work is the 1995 Acros Fukuoka building, a 15 story lush hillside on top …

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Beautifying major streets

May 5, 2009
small business, trees, Visionary
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As a gesture for improving a huge street in Shibuya, I admire the shop owner who contributed these small planters with pansies. It certainly makes the wide sidewalk, busy street and subway construction zone a bit more beautiful. As a contrast for visionary ideas to improve major streets, I am showing below an image from …

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