Today is the last day of the Royal Horticultural Societies prestigious Chelsea Flower Show in London. This year there has been a bit of a controversy about a garden called Through the Moongate which is a western take on a Chinese style garden. The problem, spotted by a couple of Chinese students, was something to do with a dragon facing the wrong way and a statue of Kanzeon placed too low to the ground.
I stepped across the yard to take a look at our garden. Kanzeon is very low to the ground, in fact the statue is standing directly on the earth. Strictly speaking one would raise it up out of reverence and respect. My guess is that this little patch remains as it is out of respect and remembrance of the person who cared for it, who is no longer resident here. Could be wrong.
Kanzeon in the garden.
Yellow Tulip called Yokohama
Lovely day here, although as I look out of the window the sky is turning grey.
Kwan-Yin looks quite at home there, where she is.
Strange how just the sight of that statue can have a calming effect.
Glad you find this so Norman.
I was around at Chelsea last week when the protest was happening. The garden had none of the deeply moving ‘spirit of place’ that the Soseki’s garden at Tenryuji that you mentioned last week has. Maybe this was because it was in the middle of the brouhaha of a flower show or perhaps, as the protesters said, it was because the sacred geomerty was all wrong. Whatever, the statue in your garden seems tranquil and at home – placed correctly or not. And the tulips look just as happpy – hope they survived the storms.
John
John,
I’d no idea there had been a demo about the Chinese garden. Whatever next?
We didn’t have a storm here however the tulips were almost past it when I took the picture so they have gone now.
I had thought to mention in the posting that my mother was keen on ‘Chelsea’ and I’d go with her each year, to look at peoples knees and the underside of flowers! But the show gardens were magic as far as I can remember, as was the icecream. It was always too hot generally and very stuffy in the tents as well. Memories.