Home Gardens in Japanese Cities

The past two columns in this space have focused on the formal gardens of Kyoto, and some ideas that can be borrowed from them for use in our own home gardens.  But what about the average urban dweller in Japan? What kind of relationship to plants and gardening do most people have when they live in a tightly congested urban area? 

As a means of comparison: the population of Japan in 2024 is a bit more than one-third the population of the United States (about 124 million, compared with the US population of 345 million).  But Japan is about 26 times smaller than the US.  Crowded into such limited space, most residents of a city like Kyoto have no backyard and only limited street frontage.  But this does not deter them from tending to plants, and even creating elaborate container gardens facing the street. And businesses often use the sidewalk area in front of their entrance as a place for a small water feature or tiny garden.

Simply walking the streets of Kyoto one is treated to a vibrant demonstration of its residents' love of gardening.  On display are a variety of plants cultivated in pots and grouped to create beauty in the limited space of a porch or stairway. Shrubs grown in containers are placed to form hedges shielding a home's entrance from street traffic, or to create a space for parking bicycles.

Some home gardeners have created clean strong lines of potted plants marching up an exterior stairway; others may block an unused garage door with a container garden. It's not unusual to see small gardens incorporated into the paved area in front of business properties, or simple fountains with floating water lilies along a sidewalk.

The main message is that no matter how small an outdoor area one might have, gardening can take place. The lack of ground soil to plant in is no barrier because so much can be accomplished by planting in containers.

Much of Japan is in a climate equivalent to U.S. Hardiness Zone 6b, where the average minimum temperature falls to 5 to 10 degrees below zero Fahrenheit, as opposed to the zones 8 and 9 of Butte County, in which our lowest winter temperatures generally fall between 20 and 25 degrees above zero Fahrenheit (10 to 15 degrees in the higher regions of areas like Magalia). This means that Japan has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons, with a relatively short growing period in spring and summer, so gardeners must make the most of the warmer months.

And yet, surprisingly, a stroll around Kyoto in May reveals many plants that are very familiar to gardeners here in our Mediterranean climate: roses, brunfelsia pauciflora (commonly known here as “yesterday, today & tomorrow”), ferns, pelargoniums, pansies, and many more.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons to take away from a visit to Japan is simply the fact that, with a little imagination and just a tiny amount of outdoor space, one can create a home entrance with plenty of “curb appeal” that is a pleasure to come home to.

Planning a trip to Kyoto? American expatriate and Kyoto resident Judith Clancy has published a number of useful and informative travel guides to the region, including Kyoto City of Zen; Kyoto Gardens; and Exploring Kyoto: On Foot in the Ancient Capital.

UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system.  To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area visit our website.  If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.