This year we had a long rainy season, which still continues even in a mid summer.
We send summer greetings every year by mid of August based on our lunar calendar,
but cold summer makes us reluctant to say "Be careful for hotness" this year.
Let us turn back the clock and enjoy flowers who are playing prelude to
summer.
 |
Lily("Yuri") White lily is symbolized as "chastity" or "virginity" as well as the Blessed Virgin. This is why many missionary girl schools adopt lily as their school emblems. The family crest of the Bourbon, absolute monarch of France, was also lily. (And still one of French national flowers) Also it is adopted as emblem of boyscout, in which I took part when I was a child. And finally my mother name is "Yuri". (Akatsutsumi, Setagaya) <- White Trumpet Lily("Teppou yuri") For other lilies, please click here. |
|
 |
Bignoniaceae ("Nohzenkazura") I feel summer has come when I see the flower. <-(Akatsutsumi, Setagaya) Pink color -> (Kinuta, Setagaya) |
 |
 |
Passion Flower("Tokei-sou") "Tokei" means a clock. Petals are like a dial plate, and a pistil and stamens are hands.("sou" means grass) It also looks like a radar. The fruits are edible but I have never seen them because they are grown in Okinawa, the far south prefecture in Japan. (Matsubara, Setagaya) |
 |
Dahlia("Dalia") |  |
 |
Dahlia is the Mexico national flower. (Sakurajosui, Setagaya) |
 |
 |
Rose mallow （"Fuyou") The flower is like hollyhock, and alternatively called "American Fuyou". When a flower has a name of "American" it usually is a large sized one. <- Pink color (Ohara, Setagaya) |
White (Chitosedai, Setagaya) Red  (Kasuya, Setagaya) |
 |
Rose of Sharon("Mukuge") This flower looks like rose mallow but it is tall tree flower. Each flower blooms in the morning and fades away in the evening, so it is well likened to ephemerality. (In "Atsumori" of Noh play, there is a phrase of "One day dream like a rose of Sharon") However flowers are continuously blooming every day and we can enjoy them entire summer. The flower is a national flower of South Korea, which admires blooming eternally. Also it gives us elegant impression like Korean traditional costume. Violet color is most seen, and there are white and purple ones as well. (Sakurajosui, Setagaya) |
 |
<- double flower (Daita, Setagaya) White -> (Kinuta, Setagaya) |
 |
| |
| Why did Little Red Ridinghood loiter on her way to her grandma living in
the forest? Because she became absorbed in picking berries. European and North American forests produce a lot of berries like raspberry, blueberry, blackberry and so on in this season. I have been living in rural in my childhood and frequently loitered to pick up berries on my way home from school. |
| Raspberry (Ohara, Setagaya)  |
Blackberry (Matsubara, Setagaya)  |
Blueberry (Kinuta, Setagaya)  |
|
| Red Currants("Fusa-suguri") (Matsubara, Setagaya) |
 |
||
| On the contrary we can see everywhere the flower that spreads charm around . Impatience Every morning a new flower blooms. |
 |
|
 |
 |
All flowers (Hanegi, Setagaya) |
| |
||
| vegetables with viscous pulp and bitter taste are good for our health to
cure summer weariness. And vegetable gardens also support you by producing these kind of vegetables such as okra gumbo and nigauri. |
||
| Okra gumbo (Sakurajosui, Setagaya) |
Nigauri (Kinuta, Setagaya) |
Sesame("Goma") (Sakurajosui, Setagaya) |
 |
 |
 |
| How did people escape from the heat when there were no electric fan or
air-conditioner? They used the tasteful elegance - the power of imagine. |
| Crinkleroot("Konron-sou") "Konron" means the Kunlun Mountains located in the west of China. The peaks are covered by perpetual snow, which represents big white leaves. A famous Chinese legend tells that Xiwangmo, mountain hermits lives in the mountain and keeps a peach tree that blooms once in a thousand years. (Hanegi, Setagaya) |
 |
 |
Snow-on-the-mountain '"Hatsuyuki-sou") Petals and the edge of leaves are snow white as if snow covers the peaks. So, the flower is called Snow-on-the-peak ("Mine no Yuki") You feel cooler, don't you? (Funabashi, Setagaya) |
| Over the Kunlun Mountains and the peaks there is a great arch of the sky.
In August the sky becomes clear and we can observe the Milky way and Cygnus cleanly. Another Chinese legend shows that at "Tanabata"(Star Festival) two stars (Vega and Altar) have a once-a-year rendezvous through the bridge that magpies throw over the Milky way. Once these birds or other flying creatures are coming down to the ground, they transform themselves into flowers. |
 |
Fringed Orchid("Sagi-sou") "Sagi" stands for egret. The name comes from the figure of flying egret. A kin of orchid. The flower is chosen as our town (Setagaya) flower based on an old tragic legend --- a captured princess tried to send a message for rescue to her father by binding it to a leg of her pet egret, which was shot down by an arrow on the way and this flower bloomed later at the spot where the egret was killed. (Matsubara, Setagaya) |
| Gaura("Hakucho-sou") "Hakucho" means a white butterfly. When the flower swings in the breeze, it looks like a butterfly flying airily. (Daita, Setagaya) |
 |
Finally I will show you a really rare-seen flower.
| Queen of the Night("Gekka Bijin") A kind of cactus. Blooming is once a year and the period is only three hours starting from around 9 o'clock in the evening and soon fades away. I was very lucky to meet the flower on my way back home from the office after overtime work. When returned the next morning to look closer, all the flowers were pick up away. Treasure every encounter, for it will never recur. July 9, 2003 (Soshigaya, Setagaya) |
 |
Error and Correction
"Singin' in the rain" sent you in June had a misleading explanation
of Agapanthus, which was described as "Aquapanthus" and as relating
to water. Sorry for our inaccuracy. The name of Agapanthus comes from "agape"
of Greek which means love.
For corrected web page, click here. 
Thanks and Attention
I have posted unknown flowers on my web page before. Fortunitely I have
a lot of responses on the flower name. Thanks a lot.
I created another new page for flowers that the name has been aware. Please clidk here.
On the other hand, there emerged new unknown flowers like this. What is
this blue flower?
I posted a new corner for unknown flowers in the same page of aware ones.
If you know the name or even the hint, please visit the page and let me learn. For the unknow flowers please click here.
If you find your favorite pictures, let us know them via e-mail to info@insite-r.co.jp.
We will send back the original picture files (JPEG 300 to 400 KB)
