gardening
Specially cultivated to bloom after they arrive at your home, these trees will provide sakura memories for years to come.
People in Japan are swooning after discovering the many talents of this foreign-born gardener who gave up his original nationality to become Japanese.
With amazing outdoor eating spaces set on moss-covered grounds in the middle of the woods, this is a secret haven for lovers of nature and Studio Ghibli.
Once its life as a pencil is over, this innovative piece of stationery will colour your garden by blooming into a variety of edible plants.
So a friend and I have a debate about what happens at the end of the Studio Ghibli anime movie Castle in the Sky Laputa. As the credits roll, the floating island is seen drifting into space, which I, as is my simple-minded nature, take literally. On the other hand, my friend argues that the visuals are at least partly metaphoric, and that the mysterious landmass didn’t really escape Earth’s orbit (he also contends that my proposed Laputa/Space Dandy crossover/sequel is too silly to ever get made).
But while it’s likely Laputa director and creator Hayao Miyazai purposely chose to craft an ambiguous ending to the film, we do now know what happened to the island: it became this awesome hanging planter from anime retailer Benelic.
China certainly knows how to have fun with their vegetation. If they’re not putting panties on peaches, they’re growing gourds in the shape of various religious and political figures.
China has a long history of making art and figures out of gourds and more recently the process has been simplified so that any Joe Schmoe can make his own Jesus squash or garden full of dangling Mao Zedongs. All it takes are some molds and a good ol’ green thumb.
The concept of plant factories is not a new one. Especially in space-strapped Japan, the idea of a compact garden that can simulate a natural environment in a tight urban area is highly desirable.
Keystone Technologies is one Japanese company that has been constantly refining their LED garden technology. Currently they boast a system that can fit about a quarter acre’s worth of crops into a space of a hotel’s single-room, and that’s just the beginning.