First flower on 26th November, 2020

 Helleborus x ballardiae 'Hgc Merlin'

Photograph © Hans van den Bos

Acer japonicum 'Mai-kujaku' in autumn colours

 on 21st October, 2020

Photographs © Hans van den Bos

Acer japonicum 'Aconitifolium'

 or as we call it 

Acer japonicum 'Mai-kujaku' 

A new inhabitant of our garden, planted today. Two days ago we drove from south-east Ireland, almost 500 kilometers, to pick up the tree at Lucan Garden Centre near Dublin. 

From a sturdy bush, it can grow into a small or medium-sized, multi-stemmed tree. The broad crown eventually becomes virtually round. The relatively large leaves have deeply dissected lobes. Despite the sturdy leaves, 'Mai-kujaku' does not have a heavy appearance. In autumn, the mat, mid-green leaves turn brilliant yellow and orange to deep dark red or even purplish-red. It is an old Japanese cultivar, that is sold under a variety of synonyms. The tree became so widespread in Europe that the European cultivar name 'Aconitifolium' gained preference over the Japanese name Mai-kujaku', which means 'dancing peacock'. Other synonyms are 'Fern leaf', 'Filicifolium', 'Palmatifidum' and 'Veitchii'.

Photographs © Hans van den Bos

Ginkgo biloba 'Pendula', new in our garden

Weeping maidenhair tree

Ginkgo biloba, commonly known as ginkgo or gingko, also known as the maidenhair tree, is the only living species in the division Ginkgophyta, all others being extinct. It is a very old species, with some fossils dating back 270 million years. Native to China, the tree is widely cultivated. 

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba

The cultivar Ginkgo biloba 'Pendula' is an extramely graceful and weeping specimen tree, with beautiful broad fans of fern-like foliage. The leaves turn golden-yellow in autumn and holds well on the tree until it falls cleanly to the ground. It is a deciduous tree that grows at a moderate rate to reach 4m (H) x 3m (W) in 10 years. 

Summer
[photo Internet]

Autumn
[photo Internet]

Bamboos in Hortus Godotii

The beautiful art of

Gesso Yoshimoto 1881-1936

Very little is known about the Japanese shin hanga artist Gesso Yoshimoto. But when the famous collector and art dealer Robert O. Muller passed away in 2003, he left in his collection a very large number of beautiful woodblock prints by this artist.

Kacho-e and Landscape Prints

Known are a large number of landscape print designs and kacho-e (images of birds and flowers). They were published by Hasegawa and by Nishinomiya Yosaku. The designs are very well made from an aspect of craftsmanship and artistic composition.

Gesso Yoshimoto must have had an art training in traditional Japanese painting. He may even have been a painter, and his designs may have been transformed by professional carvers and printers into woodblock prints on commission of the publishers Hasegawa and Nishinomiya.

But we really do not know. This is a guess. The woodblock prints however make the impression as if they had been designed specifically for export, mainly to the United States and Europe. This was typical for the shin hanga art movement.

Two swallows and Wisteria

Click on ''Gesso Yoshimoto'' above and request free access to PDF file for more works by this artist.