Gardens of Tokyo: a botanical perspective 東京の庭園：植物学の視点から.

Speaker: Paul Guy. When 5-6 cherry blossom flowers open on designated trees across Japan the news hits the evening prime time bulletin. From late March to late April the cherry blossom front is mapped as it sweeps northwards through the archipelago. There is serious discussion: is this year’s cherry blossom front ahead or behind last year’s? Some of these trees have been venerated for hundreds of years but you will be surprised how they are treated day to day.

The gardens of Tokyo range from pencil-thin strips of green on concrete landings to large public gardens confiscated during bloody battles that destroyed the shoganate and restored the Emperor. The gardens use many familiar species from the celebrated cherry blossom to my favourite the ginkgo. The latter survived the Permian mass extinction and saw the dinosaurs come and go. There are a few surprises too. There are many plant diseases which have not made it to New Zealand so Tokyo gardens are useful sentinels for pathogens we don’t want here