Japan.It's Bloomin marvellous.

[drron]

You can see the outer moat where we will be going next to cruise on one of those little boats.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

So now down to the dock.Our group will be last so some time to look around-

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Although the cherry blossoms are past their peak you still see winter camellias-

.

.

.

.

The gardener.Our guide talked to him and he is 86.He doesn't intend retiring any time soon.

.

.

And off we go.A bit of a scream.Shoes off and sit on a mat.Several low bridges which mean you have to basically lie down as the roof is lowered.Getting up was the difficult part and it made photography was hard.We were told to expect birds and wildlife.On the land this was as wild as it got-

.

.

.

 

[drron]

A part of the moat is lined by trees-

.

.

.

Even here the trees are looked after and supported-

.

.

.

.

.

.

Looks like some yucky stuff gets into the moat-

.

 

[drron]

We come to one of the low bridges-

.

.

Gets a bit claustrophobic-

.

.

.

And as you expect in Japan-a passing samurai-

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Nobody sitting on the porch-

.

.

.

.

.

.

And views of the castle-

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Another little wait for the bus back to the boat for lunch-

.

.

.

I enjoyed Matsue castle.A bit more than the reproductions.However after lunch we were going to another garden and this one was different and very enjoyable.But first scenes on the drive to Yuushien Garden-

.

.

So a tea plantation.Now the roof tiles that are from this area.Said to make the house warmer in winter.Very different from the usual grey/black so stand out-

.

.

This is the closest part of Japan to Korea so they listen to North Korea's little leader-

.

 

[drron]

When you reach the garden the parking lot is at a retail nursery you walk through.The plants and flowers are spectacular.Bright flowers and perfect foliage-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

You then cross a road and walk through a shop and café to get into the garden-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

The garden at first seems to be a traditional Japanese garden-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Still the typical garden-

.

.

.

But it's about to change.This garden,indeed this island,is known for it's peonies.Also grown on the island is ginseng but that wouldn't go in a garden.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

These are tree peonies very slow growing.The majority of the peonies grown on the island are the herbaceous type which are easier to grow and better for the flower market.

 

[love_the_life]

Peonies are a gorgeous flower, even though the ones I am most familiar with are the herbaceous ones grown by a friend. I love the restraint in the design of the Japanese garden.

 

[drron]

We now had to wait our turn to go through the indoor peonie building.So we had some time to amuse ourselves-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

And now it was our turn-

.

 

[drron]

So now prepare to be bored if you don't like peonies.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Both of us really like peonies though our experience is with some gardens in the North East of the USA and those are the herbaceous type.The fact that peonies were a feature of this garden was not mentioned in any of the cruise literature so this was a great bonus.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Then under cover but not enclosed representative plants of most of the varieties grown here-

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Peak season is mid may.We were there early April so were lucky to see as many b;ooms as we did.

 

[drron]

Not surprisingly many pictures of peonies in Japanese design-

.

.

.

.

Back out into the garden.

.

.

And those shoots coming through the ground are the herbaceous peonies.

.

.

.

.

 

[drron]

Even without the peonies I enjoyed this garden.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.