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2 Episodes 2019 - 2019
Episode 1
59 mins
Monty's exploration of Japanese spring gardens doesn't start in Japan, but rather in Britain in a brief discussion of the history of the British fascination with things Japanese. Once in Japan, he first examines plants important in the Japanese spring garden, first and foremost being the Japanese cherry, its renown of the blossom which is fleeting for only a week or so but which he does arrive in time for. Another is the Japanese pine, which is meticulously pruned to mimic its appearance in the wild, with its structure as important as its negative space. Another plant, the bane of many a British garden, but which is revered in Japan is moss in its many varieties. Another important element in the Japanese garden are stone structures, and as such he visits a stone masonry operation. Another important element is water and bridges, not only in the practical issue of crossing water, but in the development of islands within those water elements. He then examines two types of gardens associated with more ritualistic and/or spiritual aspects of Japanese culture, namely zen gardens and tea gardens. With the former, he learns the art of the daily ritual of raking gravel, the process which is as important as is the final product. He ends his trip in discussing small space gardening, space which is at a premium in Japan. The ultimate expression of such is the art of ikebana, or Japanese flower arranging.
Episode 2
59 mins
Monty returns to many of the gardens he visited in the spring to see how they've changed according to the season. The plant of greatest prominence in this season is the many varieties of Japanese maples, whose leaves are now in vibrant shades of reds, yellows and oranges. Much of the gardening work is in preparation for winter, from snowproofing the highly manicured trees, especially the pine trees, to protecting the plants from overwintering pests. He visits a garden designed in the seventeenth century Edo period, its austerity which makes it less variable to the seasons. He explores the nature of the stroll garden, whose meandering paths are meant to take one to key vista points. Just as the notion of the Japanese garden first came in consciousness in Britain in the early twentieth century, he visits a typical British rose garden designed in that same era. As he likes to do on any of his travels, he visits a garden center and speaks to shoppers to see what is in demand by the typical home gardener. As he did in the spring, he examines two more aspects of gardening that are in part an outcome of the lack of space, this time the well known art of bonsai, and the lesser known but emerging art of kokedama, translated as "moss balls". In that vein, he wants to see what the future of gardening is in densely populated Toyko, which not only has to take in the issue of limited space, but how things are set against the man made items, such as buildings, and electrical wires. He concludes his trip in Japan to a garden that encompasses every aspect already seen all into one, but which is meant to be viewed as a series of still life paintings.