Early October at Manyo Botanical Gardens



Yellowish green suggests season is progressing.

春日大社神苑　(Kasuga Shrine Manyo Botanical Gardens) is located in the ground of Kasuga Shrine.  "Manyo" means "ten thousand leaves".  The Gardens display about 300 kinds of plants described in the Manyoshu Poetry Anthology compiled in the 8th century.   Let’s see briefly how the Gardens is in early October.

curving path through the trees and flowers

Starting with "seven grasses of autumn"....

Boneset, or Thoroughwort (fujibakama)

Bellflower (asagaho/kikyo)

This is the flower thought to be “asagaho” in Manyoshu. 

 Japanese pampas grass (obana/susuki)

Some pampas grasses turned to silvery plumes, while others still remain brown.

spikes of pampas grass

At the root of Japanese Pampas Grass, there are Aeginetia Indica  (nanbangiseru).  They stop proliferation of invasive kind of poaceae like “susuki”.  This is known as "omoigusa 思草" in Manyoshu.  I wonder this name derived from the flowers blooming with their heads down ?

　Japanese Bush Clover (hagi)

The rest of "seven grasses of autumn", Yellow Patrinia (ominaeshi） and Arrowroot　(Kdzu), were already gone in September.  There was no Pink (nadeshiko), though there are still some in my garden.

Reflected grass is as beautiful as the real grass!

mixture of green and yellow

October blooming cherry tree (十月桜)

Polygonum Cnspicuum (sakuratade, 桜蓼) at the water's edge

Blackberry Lily (hiougi 檜扇)
Thank you, Wanda.

While I was looking for the fallen seeds, I found earth-colored grasshoppers (ツチバッタ).  There were no seeds on the ground.  I wonder some insects carried them away?

two grasshoppers resting parallel

Trifoliate orange fruits (karatachi no mi)

　Japanese pears (nashi)

　Polygonum Tinctorum (tadeai 蓼藍)

Campanula (tsuriganeso)

Flowers give their nectar to their last moment.

Happy autumn to you all!

Early May at Manyo Botanical Gardens: "In the green, balmy breeze of May"

Plants in Manyoshu: here in Japanese