White Camellia 白椿

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This Japanese camellia (Camellia japonica) tree has been producing beautiful white flowers for the last week. The red camellia is very popular but the white flowers are also beautiful, but differently. Sadly, however, this is the last year for these white blossoms. The area will be redeveloped, meaning the tree will be removed. 

White camellia　白椿

Pinkish White Plum Blossoms 淡いピンクの梅

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This plum tree should produce pink blossoms, so I've been looking forward to them since last month as I did last year, but so far I've seen only white blossoms. 

Scientifically, white flowering plum trees produce white blossoms while pink flowering plum trees, like this one, produce pink and white blossoms depending on whether they have sufficient anthocyanins to make the flowers red (or pink). Apparently, the tree doesn't have enough anthocyanins.

Because of the mechanism, pink flowering plum trees sometimes produce half and half colored blossoms. (Read this post!). 

Pinkish white plum blossoms　淡いピンクの梅

Chinese Quince (Chaenomeles Speciosa) 木瓜（ボケ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Chinese quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) has started to bloom in my neighborhood. The red is so bright that I mistook them for Christmas berries at first. Chinese quince flowers are pretty and the fruits can be used to make jam, but sadly in Japan, plum is more popular as a flower and an ingredient of jam.  

Chinese quince　木瓜

Daphne Odora (Winter Daphne) 沈丁花（ジンチョウゲ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Daphne odora or more commonly winter daphne has started to flower. This is the pink one. Winter daphne can have yellow flowers. I want to find them!  

Daphne odora　沈丁花

Winter daphne　ジンチョウゲ

Homemade Candied Pomelo Peel 2023 パール柑の砂糖漬け作りました

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I've just made candied pomelo peel for the first time this season. Because I didn't use fruit, which I ate last night😋, the peel is brownish (which I don't like😂) but sweeter than the hassaku orange marmalade I made last year. The peel goes perfectly well with a cup of coffee!! (I'm a coffee lover!☕)

Homemade candied pomelo peel 2023 パール柑の砂糖漬け

Vicia Sativa (Common Vetch) カラスノエンドウ

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

You can take serene pictures in the early morning, but you can take colorful pictures like these before the sun sets. This is Vicia sativa, known as the common vetch. I wrote about the plant several days ago, but the color difference between the flower in the early morning and that in the evening made me write this post.

Vicia sativa　カラスノエンドウ

Prunus Campanulata (Taiwan Cherry) 寒緋桜（カンヒザクラ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is a Taiwan cherry (Prunus campanulata) tree I saw yesterday. It didn't flower yet, but the bright pink buds were so beautiful against the blue sky that I couldn't ignore them!! 

It snowed two days ago but the temperature rose to 10˚C yesterday in Tokyo. In Japan, spring comes after a cycle of three cold days and four warm days (三寒四温). Taiwan cherry trees will blossom in a month.

Prunus campanulata (Taiwan cherry)　寒緋桜（カンヒザクラ）

Pink Prunus Mume (Pink Plum Blossoms) 紅梅

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Since I saw white Prunus mume or white plum blossoms a week ago, I've been looking for pink blossoms and voila! I've found them. The tree is in a schoolyard, so the gate is locked and nobody can go in usually, but at that time it was open! 

Pink Prunus mume　紅梅

Pink Prunus mume　紅梅

Vicia Sativa (Common Vetch) カラスノエンドウ

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This is Vicia sativa, known as the common vetch. The plant usually flowers from March to May. Maybe because the once-in-a-decade cold snap was just over in Japan, this vetch must have thought that spring was coming!😉 A woman stopped nearby while I was taking these pictures to ask me what I was doing. I was squatting on the ground. Obviously, I made people wonder what I was doing. 

Vicia sativa　カラスノエンドウ

Pieris Japonica (Japanese Lily of the Valley) 馬酔木（アセビ）

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I thought at first that they were fruits of Pieris japonica or more commonly the Japanese andromeda or Japanese lily of the valley, but they're actually the buds! I've seen the white flowers and known that the plant is so toxic that horses eating the plant look drunk, which is why its Japanese name is asebi (馬酔木), meaning "a tree which makes horses drunk," but didn't know they produce such cute tiny bright red buds!!

Buds of Pieris japonica　馬酔木の蕾

White Prunus Mume (White Plum Blossoms) 白梅

Japanese follows English. 英語の後に日本語が続きます。

White Prunus mume or white plum has started to blossom! I walk and pass by the tree almost everyday, but haven't noticed that until today. Spring is a little away, but is definitely approaching. My question is when spring will come to Ukraine....

White Prunus mume　白梅

White plum blossoms　白梅