| Sketches of Japanese Manners and Customs (1867):
One of the many traits of the refinement which characterises all classes of Japanese is their passion
for flowers, which the singularly rich and varied nature of the flora of the country, aided by the magnificent climate, enables them to
cultivate with great success.
Every Japanese has some knowledge of the art of gardening; and, however humble a house may be, it
generally has a potted flower or dwarf tree about it: or, in the absence of that, a flowering branch of peach or cherry, placed in water.
Regular professors teach the art of dwarfing, training, and grafting trees and plants, and of laying out
miniature landscapes, into which artificial mountains and valleys are introduced, and very frequently lakes, studded with lilliputian
fern-covered islands, around which gold and silver fish may be seen darting about; or, if the sun is hot, taking refuge under curious
Japanese bridges, or the broad leaves of the lotus, which usually cover a portion of the surface--the only thing out of proportion, probably,
in the details of the miniature landscape.
...Gardens for the sale of dwarf trees and flowers are also very common. Some are perfect
_bijoux_. As a rule the varied collections of flowers, planted in coloured china pots, are arranged, with very
agreeable effect, in tiers of shelves round the sides, and on stands about the gardens.
Many of the dwarf trees, especially the maples, have great variety of foliage, the result of
constant grafting. To such an extent is this practised, that it is rare to find pure botanical specimens in a Japanese garden.
Plants are sometimes cultivated for their berries as well as for their variegated foliage. One very beautiful specimen, producing at the
same time bright scarlet and yellow berries, is believed by many to have been obtained from cuttings of an exquisite shrub, which is said
to be the principal ornament of the regions of the 'Kamis,' or Japanese heaven... 2 |