Sayeh's Garden Visits

04/18/2024

In September 2023, I was walking in New York city when I stumbled across a remarkable urban farm. What started as an initiative by 8 high school students in 2011, has now become a farming program that engages over 5,000 students each year and teaches how to grow and nurture food gardens in urban settings. Much of what is produced is given to hunger alleviation programs.

The whole battery park program however is not without controversy as the renovation of the area in 2008 saw the cutting down of 80 mature trees. There's also the question about the systemic roots of hunger and poverty in one of the most affluent cities. With those thoughts, I hope you join me in a tour of the many things this garden and the nearby Labyrinth garden get right.

03/09/2024

When my family visited Japan in July 2023, each of us chose a destination we would visit as a family. My choice was Kyoto Botanical Garden. July is an extremely hot month in Japan and the vegetation was 'crispy' from the heat, but visiting this beautiful garden was a fantastic choice, so please join me as I take you on a little tour.

12/07/2023

On our way to visit the Yokohama Gundam Factory, I noticed a Canadian Maple tree.... and of course, had to go and discover a hidden corner of Yamash*ta park that is filled with amazing architectural details. I will post the rest of this beautiful park in another post, but this one is for all the lovers of beautiful architecture and a lonely Canadian maple who has symbolized the deep friendship with Canada for the past 19 years.

11/17/2023

And now for something completely different! This is a post about the gardens of the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka, Japan. This past summer I visited Japan with my family and each of us chose a place to visit. I chose Kyoto Botanical Gardens, which you'll see in an upcoming post, My husband chose the Gundam Factory in Yokohama ( again, another post! ) and my daughter, a HUGE fan of Hayao Miyazaki, wanted to see the Ghibli Museum. We got a tour (highly recommended) which took us to the Ghibli museum as well as the Edo Architecture Museum, and the hotel that inspired Miyazaki. Those all will be in other posts, but today, I want to take you to the gardens of Ghibli Museum.

There is no photography allowed INSIDE the museum but you can take pictures outside and in the gardens.... so that's exactly what I did. I hope you enjoy this mini tour.

07/29/2023

What do you do if you have 5 hours between flights in Atlanta? You visit the Atlanta Botanical Garden of course!!! Was that a trick question?
This was the first time I have ever been in Atlanta so I didn't know what to expect. I'll start by giving a shout out to the kindest people I have met on my travels. Maybe I was lucky, but I have never felt this much genuine care and hospitality ever. Everyone I interacted with, from the information desk to taxi drivers and garden staff, were so genuine and welcoming. This is one place I will definitely visit in the future.

I still have to add a few captions, so please be patient.

05/29/2023

Welcome to the Mary Wattis Brown garden of California native plants. This garden is located on the UC Davis campus and winds through various landscapes along a narrow lake. At times, I was a bit surprised to find plants such as bear breeches and lamb's ears that were OBVIOUSLY not native growing happily in the garden but all together, it was a delightful garden to visit.

05/13/2023

05/13/2023

I am visiting my mom in California and wanted to share this little gem of a garden with you. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

02/28/2023

This is the third year I have visited the annual Royal Botanical Garden's Orchid Society show and I have to say it's really a gem of a show! It's a 60km trek for me to there, but I started going in 2018 when a fellow member of the now disbanded Botanical Artists of Canada told me that they had an art show open to entries from the public.

This was the third year that I entered and I walked away realizing that the kindness and warmth of the organizers was the real reason I was making the trek. I'm not by any means knowledgeable about orchids, but just dedicated to supporting the real growers by dutifully buying some each year.

I will be adding the names to the pictures as I sort though them in the next few days so I hope you'll enjoy seeing these beauties as much as I did!

03/22/2022

It's been a while since I've visited any gardens, but after two years, I've had a chance to visit family in California so I took a quick break to join a tour offered by the Santa Clara valley chapter of the California Native Plant Society.
Cunningham lake was excavated about 100 years ago and the soil that was dug up was deposited around it to form hills around it. I had an absolutely fantastic time with Arvind as our knowledgeable and lovely guide, so please join me to learn about the native plants of California.