Konichiwaaaaah, Japan Here I come

Konichiwa.....A Plant Fantatic is going to be on a short hiatus for an autumn vacation to Japan.
Its going to be a fun explorating the ancient capitals seeing all the amazing sites in Japan. I'm really looking forward to the autumn colors and festivals that maybe occuring along my journey, not to mention all the beautiful gardens that will be in their primary fall colors. (Although I keep reading that peak fall throughout Japan happens in the mid-November timeframe - so we shall see)

Stay tuned for some amazing updates from Japan. Meanwhile, I'll leave you with an authentic tea ceremony  performed at our local tea house in the Queen Liliuokalani gardens at Hilo.

Sayonaaaaaraaaa!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Photowalk Competition

 

 

I can't believe I'm waking up at 5am Saturday morning to take some morning pictures with a photo club I've just joined recently here in Hawaii. And now my first photo tour with them is to do a photowalk around Hilo Bay with an early sunrise start.  But this will not be any morning excursion, its a world wide photo walk and competition with over 30,000 registered participants that will compete in one single day of shooting to submit only one photo for consideration as their best work.

It was tough making a decision on the one, but I have boiled it down to two shots below done in the early morning light, more diffused but with a lot of detail and a hint of a tropical environment. Maybe you can help me choose the best of the two?

 

 

 

 

So which of the two looks more like a winning photo to you, they are a little similar except for the foreground with different rock studies.

 

Along the way, I did stop at the Japanese garden close by to take some practice shots, unfortunately, there wasn’t enough good light to make these make my top considerations, but I’m showing them to you anyway so you get to see photos of this beautiful park in Hilo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a quiet corner is this beautiful shady grove with thousands of colorful impatiens in hot colors, it just lit up this little corner.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed the tour, please help me select the final cut.  To enjoy more views of the world on Tuesday go visit http://showyourworld.blogspot.com/

Walking around the garden....Queen Liliuokalani Park

One of my favorite gardens is Liliuokalani Park in downtown Hilo which is a large 30 acre garden right on Hilo Bay, next to all the old hotels on Banyan Drive. I regularly take walks around the Japanese garden to get inspiration for a small scale garden that I eventually plan on developing in my property. There are many beautiful bridges to cross over little lagoons, and various paths that lead to different vistas around the garden with amazing views of Hilo Bay and the city. There are also koi ponds, pagodas, various statues, and a Japanese tea house frequently in use. My morning walk includes the bridge walk to Coconut Island which also has amazing vistas. There is a remnant of a stone tower that was part of the original footbridge and is now used by locals to jump off into the bay.